1st Thematic programme: The History of the European Union

As it regards the programme on “The History of the Union” the milestones of the history of the European integration were identified. The European Union’s fundamental chronology, starting from the birth of the three Communities – ECSC, EEC and CEEA – in the Fifties up to today, was related through the personal story and witness of the protagonists of the time and of the community executives having a long international experience. In particular:

Filippo Maria Pandolfi, Vice-President of the European Commission from 1989 to 1993, and also many time Minister of the Italian Government since 1976, illustrated the most significant aspects of the European integration process from 1947 to 1979, and therefore the announcement of the Marshall Plan and the Schuman Declaration up to the first enlargement of the Communities to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Danmark.

Pier Virgilio Dastoli, former pupil of Altiero Spinelli and at present Director of the Representation of the European Commission in Italy, explained the event that characterised the life of the Union from the ‘80s to 1997, pausing on the first universal-suffrage election of the European Parliament, the subsequent accession of Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Swede and Finland and the signature of Treaties such as the European Single Act, the Schengen Agreement, the Treaty of Maastricht and the Treaty of Amsterdam.

Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and at present Italian Prime Minister, he analysed the most significant events that characterised the historical period from 1998 to today, paying particular attention to the historical process of enlargement to the Central-Eastern European Countries, that ended in 2004 and to the signing of the European Constitution that took place in Rome in the same year.