Altiero Spinelli's European Federal Odyssey

Abstract

Spinelli became committed to the federal idea in 1940–41 when, towards the end of his sixteen years as a political prisoner, he read books by British federalist authors which convinced him that federalism could resolve the crises of nation-states in a democratic, liberal way. He initiated draft treaties for largely federal European constitutions in the 1950s and the 1980s. The first, for a European Political Community (EPC), was inspired by his insistence that the proposed European army must be responsible to a federal government. But when France abandoned the European Defence Community, the EPC went down too. In the 1980s, as a member of the European Parliament, he led it in producing, and approving by a big majority, a Draft Treaty establishing the European Union. It attracted impressive support, led by French President Mitterrand. The outcome was the more modest Single European Act which, however, led on to major reforms in subsequent treaties. Both occasions demonstrated the synergy between Spinelli's federal vision and Monnet's method of federal steps.