In this extract, Pierre Bernard-Reymond, State Secretary for European Affairs in the French Foreign Ministry from 1979 to 1981 and Member of the European Parliament from 1984 to 1986 and from 1989 to 1999, remembers Altiero Spinelli and especially his attachment to the idea of a European Constitution, but explains that he personally is in favour of progressive integration through successive treaties. Moreover, he emphasises the role of the European Commission, while playing down its impact in certain areas with regard to the power of the President of the Commission.