VISIONARIES

FROM THE HISTORY OF

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Words that started
the Union
FOREWORD

25 March 1957 was a significant day for European integration. On that day, the heads
of state of six European countries signed the Treaty of Rome. Today, this document still
constitutes the foundation of the European Union.

In the run up to this momentous event, statesmen from across Europe spoke and
wrote about their vision for the Union. Their famous words paved the way towards a
common understanding of the goals and principles on which the European Union is
still based today.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and to pay tribute to these men,
we present a selection of extracts from their most famous speeches and written works.

Rudolf W. Strohmeier
Director-General of the Publications Office
of the European Union
RICHARD
COUDENHOVE-KALERGI
RICHARD COUDENHOVE-KALERGI
(Austrian, 1894-1972) was a pioneer of
European integration. He dedicated his
entire life to his vision of ‘Paneuropa’, a
popular movement for a united Europe
that he launched in the early 1920s.
Over a period of decades, Coudenhove-
Kalergi built up a network of political
leaders who helped to promote Europe’s
political and economic integration.


‘Europe as a political concept does not exist.
This part of the world includes nations and states
installed in the chaos, in a barrel of gunpowder
of international conflicts, in a field of future
conflicts. This is the European Question: the
mutual hate of the Europeans that poisons the
atmosphere ... The European Question will only be
solved by means of the union of Europe’s nations.’

Extract from a manifesto published by Richard Coudenhove-

Kalergi in 1923, in which the idea of a Pan-European union is
presented for the first time.

3
ALTIERO
SPINELLI
ALTIERO SPINELLI
(Italian, 1907-1986) was a devoted He was a Member of the European
European federalist. In 1943 he founded Commission (1970-1976) and a Member
the European Federalist Movement. of the European Parliament (1976-1986).


‘With propaganda and action, seeking to establish
in every possible way the agreements and links
among the single movements which are certainly being
formed in the various countries, the foundation
must be built now for a movement that knows how
to mobilise all forces for the birth of the new
organism which will be the grandest creation,
and the newest, that has occurred in Europe for
centuries … If a sufficient number of men in European
countries understand this, then victory is shortly
to be in their hands, because the situation and
the spirit will be favourable to their work. They
will have before them parties and factions that
have already been disqualified by the disastrous
experience of the last twenty years. It will be the
moment of new action, it will also be the moment of
new men: the MOVEMENT FOR A FREE AND UNITED EUROPE.’

Extract from the Ventotene Manifesto (Italian: Manifesto di

Ventotene) — officially entitled For a Free and United Europe — a
political statement written by Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi
while they were prisoners on the Italian island of Ventotene during
the Second World War. The manifesto encouraged a federation of
European states, which was meant to keep the countries of Europe
close, thus preventing war.

5
WINSTON
CHURCHILL
WINSTON CHURCHILL
(British, 1874-1965) was the Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom (1940-1945 and
1951-1955). He favoured the formation
of a council of Europe and pleaded for
building a ‘United States of Europe’. The
aim of democratically organised ‘united
states’ would be to prevent future wars
in Europe.


‘If Europe were once united in the sharing of its
common inheritance, there would be no limit to the
happiness, to the prosperity and glory which its
three or four hundred million people would enjoy …
It is to re-create the European Family, or as much
of it as we can, and provide it with a structure
under which it can dwell in peace, in safety and in
freedom. We must build a kind of United States of
Europe. In this way only will hundreds of millions of
toilers be able to regain the simple joys and hopes
which make life worth living.’

Extract from an address given by Winston Churchill on

19 September 1946 at the University of Zurich, in which he
identifies Franco-German reconciliation and the establishment
of a European organisation as conditions for peace and liberty
throughout the continent.

7
ROBERT
SCHUMAN
 ROBERT SCHUMAN
(1883-1963) was a Luxembourg-born
French statesman. Twice Prime Minister of
France, a reformist minister of finance and
a foreign minister, he was instrumental
in building postwar European and
transatlantic institutions and was one of
the founders of the European Union, the
Council of Europe and NATO.


‘World peace cannot be preserved without creative
efforts equal to the dangers threatening it. The
contribution that an organised, dynamic Europe
can bring to civilisation is essential for the
preservation of peaceful relations. By championing
a united Europe for more than twenty years,
France’s main objective was always to serve the
cause of peace. Europe was not made, and the result
was war. Europe will not be constructed in one go,
according to a single plan: it will be built on
specific achievements creating, first of all, a de
facto solidarity.’

Extract from the Schuman Declaration — a statement presented

by Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950, which was a proposal to place
Franco-German production of coal and steel under one common
authority. This cooperation was to be designed in such a way as
to create common interests between European countries, which
would lead to gradual political integration, a condition for the
pacification of relations between them.

9
ALCIDE
DE GASPERI
ALCIDE DE GASPERI
(1881-1954) was a politician and Prime
Minister of Italy (1945-1953). Born in
the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he
was a member of the parliament in
Vienna. After the Second World War
he forged the path of Italy in postwar
reconstruction and was inspired by
the ideal of peaceful cooperation
between nations. He became a prime
mover behind various initiatives for
European integration. In 1954 he was
elected President of the Parliamentary
Assembly for the European Coal and Steel
Community.


‘History, with its similarities and coincidences,
its links which when broken are instantly forged
anew, shows us that the uniting of our forces is
likely to dispel the rancour in our hearts, and can
give us peace within Europe, even before a defence
pact is concluded as a guarantee of that peace. The
pooling of our social, cultural, and administrative
experience doubles the strength of our national
potentialities, and preserves them from all danger
of decline, by giving them fresh impetus towards the
creation of a still more advanced and still nobler
civilisation.’

Extract from the speech given by Alcide De Gasperi on

10 December 1951, in which he explains the significance of the
plans to create the European Defence Community to the assembly
of the Council of Europe.

11
KONRAD
ADENAUER
KONRAD ADENAUER
(German, 1876-1967) was the first
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of
Germany (1949-1963). As chancellor
he was involved in the process of
establishing the European Communities.
In 1963, he co-signed the Franco-German
Treaty of Friendship with Charles de
Gaulle. This treaty became a milestone on
the road to European integration.


‘There has been much planning and discussion
regarding the creation of Europe. In the time when
people thought only in terms of the nation state, it
was an almost perverse idea, and, to many, it seemed
Utopian, although they could not fail to see that
there was a need for a new kind of Europe. Now the
first step from plan to reality has been taken. As we
confidently hope, this ushers in a new era for our
Continent, an era of peace, common endeavour and new
prosperity. A grand vista opens up before us … In the
interests of peace, in the interests of progress, we
must create Europe, and we shall create Europe.’

Extract from an address given by Konrad Adenauer in Luxembourg

on 8 September 1952 at the inaugural meeting of the special
council of the European Coal and Steel Community.

13
JEAN
MONNET
JEAN MONNET
(French, 1888-1979) was a French
political economist and diplomat. He
was the first President of the High
Authority of the European Coal and
Steel Community, the founder of the
Action Committee for the United States
of Europe and a driving force behind the
creation of the European Council.


‘In all our future efforts we shall have to keep in
mind that mankind cannot give concrete shape to all
the potentialities with which Nature and History
have endowed it, if it does not live in harmony
with its time. The single market which we will
institute for the first time represents one of the
essential elements for achieving great developments
in production. These developments are necessary and
are possible, but only if we unite … In these days
when the first supranational institutions of Europe
are being established, we are conscious of the
beginning of the great European revolution of our
time: the revolution which, on our Continent, aims
at substituting unity in freedom and in diversity
for tragic national rivalries, the revolution which
tends to stop the decay of our civilisation and to
initiate a new renaissance.’

Extract from a speech given on 11 September 1952 by Jean

Monnet, President of the High Authority of the European Coal and
Steel Community, in which he opens the inaugural session of the
Common Assembly, setting out the role of the first Community
institutions and stressing the importance of establishing a single
market in Europe.

15
PAUL-HENRI
SPAAK
PAUL-HENRI SPAAK
(Belgian, 1899-1972) played a key role in
formulating the Treaties of Rome, which
established the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic
Energy Community. He was also the first
President of the United Nations General
Assembly and was instrumental in the
creation of NATO.


‘We have recovered, pulled ourselves together and,
without forgetting the past — which would be a
betrayal — we have decided to embark on this great
adventure which, if it succeeds — and it will — will
allow us to save the dearest and most beautiful
things we have in common. This draft treaty is thus
not only a moving message of reconciliation — it is
a vote of confidence in the future. It is not just
a political and legal document but an initiative
of men who are determined to save the inestimable
riches and intellectual heritage which aggression
has only rendered more dear.’

Extract from a speech given by Paul-Henri Spaak on 9 March 1953

in Strasbourg, during which he officially hands over the draft
treaty establishing the European Political Community to the
foreign ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal
and Steel Community.

17
JOHAN WILLEM
BEYEN
JOHAN WILLEM BEYEN
(Dutch, 1897-1976) was a banker, civil
servant, politician and diplomat. He
served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the Netherlands (1952-1956). In his ‘Beyen
Plan’, he championed the idea of a Europe
which was primarily economic and he
outlined the objective of creating a
common market and an economic union.


‘Countries wishing to create a common market must
not lose sight of their real aim — to modernise
their productive capacity. Their objective is to
give their businesses the opportunity to compete
as effectively as possible against other producers,
both within and outside the group of participating
countries. Creating a common market encircled by
a surrounding wall to protect against competition
from outside would do nothing to achieve this goal.
Rather, it would run contrary to it. It is economic
growth, both within the participating States and
in their trade with the wider world, which is
rightly highlighted in the draft treaty. A European
community should not be restrictive, either in terms
of its character or its structure.’

Extract from a letter sent by Johan Willem Beyen on 5 May 1953 to

his counterparts in the Member States of the European Coal and
Steel Community, in which he outlines the means for establishing
general, rather than sectoral, economic integration in order to
progressively establish a genuine common market in Europe.

19
JOSEPH
BECH
JOSEPH BECH
(Luxembourgish, 1887-1975), a politician
who served as Prime Minister of
Luxembourg, was actively involved in
the European integration process. During
the Second World War he participated in
the founding of the Benelux. In 1955, he
chaired the Messina Conference, which
would lead to the Treaty of Rome in 1957.


‘The signature of the treaties establishing the
European Economic Community and the European Atomic
Energy Community is the most important step forward
since the war on the long road towards European
unity. Today, for the first time in their history,
the peoples of Europe are coming together freely in
a vast enterprise to advance the cause of progress
and prosperity, replacing their rivalries and
economic antagonism with an organisation founded on
the principle of the common good.’

Extract from a speech given by Joseph Bech on 25 March 1957 in

Rome, during the signing ceremony for the treaties establishing
the European Economic Community and the European Atomic
Energy Community, in which he welcomes in particular the
historical significance of the new treaties for the process of
European integration.

21
 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers
to your questions about the European Union.

Freephone number (*):

00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11
(*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators,
phone boxes or hotels may charge you).

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017

Print ISBN 978-92-78-41428-3 doi:10.2830/55775 OA-04-17-077-EN-C

PDF ISBN 978-92-78-41427-6 doi:10.2830/486066 OA-04-17-077-EN-N

© European Union, 2017

For any reuse of this publication, permission must be sought from the Publications Office
of the European Union (op-info-copyright@publications.europa.eu).

Photo credits:
Cover: iStock.com/bkindler
Inside cover: © AP – Redistribution of the image by third parties not authorised
Pages 4, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 20: © European Union
Page 2: © Nationaal Archief/Collectie Spaarnestad/Fotograaf onbekend
Page 6: © AP 1939 — Redistribution of the image not authorised — EU — EP
Page 16: © AP 1948 — Redistribution of the image not authorised — EU — EP
Page 18: © Nationaal Archief/Collectie Spaarnestad/Harris & Ewing
Text credits:
Page 3: Source: Richard N. Coudenhove-Kalergi, Pan-Europa, German edition, 1982, Pan-Europa
Verlag, Augsburg, pp. 23-24.
© Pan-Europa Verlag, Wien, 1923 [Pan-Europa Verlag, Vienna, 1923].

Page 5: Source: Il manifesto di Ventotene, Il Mulino, ‘Biblioteca federalista’, 1991, p. 50.

© 1991 by Società editrice Il Mulino, Bologna [copyright issued in 1991 by the ‘Il Mulino’
publishing company, Bologna]

Page 7: Source: Speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich on 19 September 1946.
Council of Europe document: https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/
DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016806981f3

Page 9: Source: © Archives du ministère français des Affaires étrangères et du développement

international – La Courneuve [Archives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Development — La Courneuve].

Page 11: Source: Speech by Mr De Gasperi to the Committee on General Affairs of the
Consultative Assembly on 10 December 1951.
Council of Europe document: http://coe.archivalware.co.uk/awweb/
pdfopener?smd=1&md=1&did=716282

Page 13: Source: Speech by Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer at the inaugural meeting of the
ECSC Special Council of Ministers in Luxembourg on 8 September 1952.
Published in the Official Gazette of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:
https://www.gouvernement.lu/1824206/BID_1952_8-9.pdf

Page 15: Source: http://europa.eu/!NV38bc

Page 17: Source: http://europa.eu/!fU96hp

Page 19: Source: Archives of the Council of the European Union, CM1 CECA CPE. 31.2.
© European Union. Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Page 21: Source: Archives of the Council of the European Union, CM3 NEG01. 98.
© European Union. Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
3
http://publications.europa.eu

Print ISBN 978-92-78-41428-3 doi:10.2830/55775 OA-04-17-077-EN-C

PDF ISBN 978-92-78-41427-6 doi:10.2830/486066 OA-04-17-077-EN-N