Posted on 15 January 2021
The photographic collections of Franco Maria Malfatti and of Carlo Scarascia-Mugnozza were described and digitised, and are now available on the HAEU online database. These collections document the political activities of both actors and offer rich material to study the European integration history and its visual representation in the 1970s.
Franco Maria Malfatti’s collection comprises 375 photographs illustrating his mandate as President of the European Commission from 1970 to 1972. Carlo Scarascia-Mugnozza’s collection includes 43 photographs taken during his mandate as Vice-President of the European Commission from 1972 to 1977, under the presidencies of Sicco Mansholt and François-Xavier Ortoli.
Among others, the photographs illustrate the signing ceremony of the accession treaty of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway, during Malfatti’s presidency. They also reflect the Commission’s external relations through visits and meetings with different personalities, as well as its inter-institutional relations with representatives of the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Parliament, and the European Economic and Social Committee. At the same time, the photographs depict European personalities who played an important role in the history of the EU, such as Sicco Mansholt, Ralf Dahrendorf, Albert Coppé, Sicco Mansholt, Raymond Barre and Emile Noël. They also feature key meetings such as those of the Finance and Foreign Affairs Council of the Agriculture Council. The images pertaining to the 142th meeting of the Agricultural Council show farmers protesting in the Palace of Congress in Brussels with cows against the Common Agricultural Policy, with one featuring French Minister for Agriculture Minister Michel Cointat surrounded by cows.
Altogether, these photographic collections constitute visual testimonies of the history and activities of the European Commission in the 1970s. They complement the written sources preserved at the HAEU in the various institutional and private archival fonds. The digitisation and publication of these photographic collections online facilitates access for researchers and the public.
Consult the photographic collections of Franco Maria Malfatti and Carlo Scarascia Mugnozza.