Histcom3 – The European Commission (1986-2000) – History and Memories of an Institution
The 'Histcom3' project was carried out by an international team of historians, under the direction of Vincent Dujardin, Éric Bussière (Université de Paris-Sorbonne/Paris IV), Piers Ludlow (London School of Economics), Federico Romero (European University Institute, EUI), Dieter Schlenker (Historical Archives of the European Union, EUI) and Antonio Varsori (Università di Padova) Fifty-two professors and researchers, belonging to more than thirty universities or research centers in Europe and beyond, participated in the work of this consortium, gathering first hand sources, including a large number of interviews with former Commissioners and officials, with a view to writing a collective volume focusing on the administrative, economic, social, and international dimensions of the European Commission from 1986 to 2000. The Alcide De Gasperi Research Center (EUI) contributed to the volume, coordinated interviews with former commissioners and senior officials, and facilitated access to the archival sources preserved at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence.
The Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) provided technical assistance to the project secretariat at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, and prepared the inventory and online access to the oral history programme. The digital platform provides access to the interviews for consultation, according to the specific rules established by the interviewees and the institutions concerned. The interviews are complemented by a brief summary and a biographical note, and are made available to users in the form of audio recordings and transcripts.
This new oral history material constitutes a rich source of information on the history of the European Commission and other EU institutions, as well as on the experiences and memories of the men and women working in these institutions in the years 1986 to 2000, including important figures like Jacques Delors, Jacques Santer, and Romano Prodi. The new set of interviews enriches and elevates the collection of interviews to more than 900 oral history recordings preserved at the HAEU and made available for research in digital format.
Read the third volume on the European Commission's history and consult the oral history programme “The European Commission 1986-2000. Memories of an institution”.