80 Years on – is the Ventotene manifesto still relevant for today’s Europe?

Abstract

The manifesto “Towards a Free and United Europe” was drafted on the island of Ventotene in 1941, in the midst of World War II. Authored by Italian intellectuals and militant politicians in exile, Altiero Spinelli, Ernesto Rossi and Eugenio Colorni, the Ventotene Manifesto envisioned the creation of a federal Europe, to change the historical path that had led European countries to war for the second time in just a few decades. Eighty years later Europe is at peace, but the EU faces other crises, not least the pandemic and the future itself of the European project which is undermined by resurgent nationalisms in many member states. Academics and high-profile former European officials, who worked closely with Altiero Spinelli at the European Parliament, will discuss the impact of the ideas of the Ventotene Manifesto in the process of European integration, and their relevance for today’s Europe. In a dialogue between past and present, this panel will address the significance of one of Europe’s founding documents for the challenges ahead, and the implications of European political integration in the world of today.