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Alcide De Gasperi's vision of a united Europe still valid

Posted on 27 November 2014

The international conference “Alcide De Gasperi - the Western Preference and the Construction of Europe” took place on 14 November 2014 in Rome, at the Chamber of Deputies in Palazzo Montecitorio.

The conference was jointly organised by the Historical Archives of the European Union and the De Gasperi Foundation of Rome, with the patronage of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The conference marked the 60th anniversary of the death of President Alcide De Gasperi and celebrated the opening of the private archives of De Gasperi, held at the Historical Archives of the European Union.

Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies, opened the works by underlining the relevance today of De Gasperi’s vision to guarantee peace and democracy trough a unified Europe: "De Gasperi had a vision and thought towards future generations. For De Gasperi the construction of a United Europe was a way to guarantee the supreme values of peace and democracy."

The Honorary President of the De Gasperi Foundation and daughter of Alcide De Gasperi, Maria Romana De Gasperi, remarked that the process of construction of a united Europe, initiated by her father, brought benefits created a stable Western European society based on democracy and stability and raised the levels of wealth of its citizens: "Of all this remains our duty to keep building our Europe and to construct it as an entity that can help improve not only our lives but that of all people in the world."

During his opening speech Joseph H.H. Weiler, President of the European University Institute, announced that a research centre focusing on the history of European Integration will be created at the European University Institute in 2015, which will bear the name of Alcide De Gasperi to honour this outstanding politician and founding father of the European Union: "I would like to seize this occasion to announce that we decided to create the second important research centre of the European University Institute, which is focused on the research of European Integration history. It is our great pleasure and honour that this centre will be named after De Gasperi."

Prof. Ornaghi has introduced the first session of the conference remarking how the historical research on De Gasperi has brought in evidence  "that vitality of ideas, that vision  much necessary in the present phase of stasis and difficult in which the European Unione finds itself".

Presiding the session on De Gasperi’s key role in the European integration process, Dieter Schlenker, Director of the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence highlighted the outstanding historical value of the private papers of Alcide De Gasperi, which were generously deposited at the Historical Archives by Maria Romana De Gasperi in 2001 and reveal the cultural, administrative and political commitments characterising the life and career of De Gasperi.

Various contributions during the one-day international conference from renowned historians of Italian and European modern history offered an unprecedented perspective on Italian post-War history and the country’s reinsertion among Western democratic nations. It also shed light on the Italian role in the foundation of Europe promoted by Alcide De Gasperi during his terms as prime minister of Italy, from 1945 to 1953, when he facilitated the participation of Italy in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and actively supported plans for a European Defence Community (EDC), which envisaged the creation of an authentic European political community.

Conference video recording

Conference Programme

Alcide De Gasperi private archives

De Gasperi Foundation in Rome

Photo gallery of the event

 

 

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