On 15 April 1971, at the annual dinner of the Confederation of Irish Industries and in the presence of Altiero Spinelli, member of the European Commission, Patrick Hillery, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, sets out the stakes of the country's accession to the European Communities.
On 14 July 1999, the President of the European Parliament, the Spaniard José-Maria Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado, renames the three new Parliament buildings in Brussels. They are henceforth known as the Bertha von Suttner, the Altiero Spinelli and the Paul-Henri Spaak buildings. The ceremony is attended, in particular, by the daughter of the former Belgian Prime Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak.
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.
On 21 June 1982, Altiero Spinelli, rapporteur and coordinator of the Institutional Committee, submits to the vote of the Members of the European Parliament on behalf of the Committee a motion for a resolution on the European Parliament guidelines concerning the reform of the treaties and the establishment of a European union. The explanatory statement is published separately.
On 6 July 1982, the Members of the European Parliament adopt a resolution on the European Parliament’s guidelines concerning the reform of the treaties and the creation of a European union by 258 votes to 37, with 21 abstentions. Inspired by the work of Altiero Spinelli, the resolution follows the decision of 9 July 1981 to launch a new political and legal process with a view to the establishment of a European union.
In December 1942, Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi address a secret letter to Count Sforza, then in exile in the United States, on behalf of the Italian federalists kept under house arrest on the island of Ventotene, enjoining him to support the post-war realisation of the United States of Europe.
On 15 February 1984, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir analyses the content of Altiero Spinelli’s Draft Treaty establishing the European Union, adopted the day before in Strasbourg by the European Parliament.
In this interview, Carlos Bru, Member of the European Parliament from 1986 to 1994, discusses the Single European Act, the maximalist policies of Altiero Spinelli, the Spanish contributions to the concepts of social cohesion and European citizenship, and the establishment of specifically European political parties.
In this interview excerpt, Gérard Deprez, Member of the European Parliament from 1984 to 1999 (European People’s Party (EPP)), from 1999 to 2004 (Citizens’ Movement for Change (MCC)), from 2004 to 2009 and since 2014 (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)), lists the Members of the European Parliament who he believes have played a significant role. He mentions Altiero Spinelli, Member of the European Commission from 1970 to 1976 (with responsibility for industrial policy and research) and Member of the European Parliament from 1976 to 1986, Jacques Delors, Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981 and President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, Fernand Herman, Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1999, Simone Veil, Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1993 and President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, Jean-Louis Bourlanges, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 2005, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993, Alain Lamassoure, Member of the European Parliament since 1989, Hans-Gert Pöttering, Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 2014, Chairman of the EPP Group from 1999 to 2007 and President of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009, and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 2014.