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Friday, 29 January

The official opening took place in the grand chamber of the Council of Europe under the chairmanship of Enzo Giacchero, then President of the MFE Central Committee.

Speakers included:

• Enzo Giacchero
• Lodovico Benvenuti, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
• Pierre Pflimlin, Mayor of Strasbourg.

During the afternoon, the Congress heard:

• the report on MFE activities by André Delmas, Secretary General;
• the financial report by Pierre Lucion;
• the report of the Control Commission;
• above all, the General Political Report by Raymond Rifflet, President of the Executive Bureau.

The political debate continued into the evening. PDF pp. 7–8.

Saturday, 30 January

The work then moved into commissions.

The Political Commission was divided into three subcommissions dealing with:

1. international policy;
2. the European Community;
3. economic and social policy.

There was also an Organization Commission, led by André Delmas, with a specific subcommission devoted to youth organization.

The Congress therefore addressed not only federalist constitutional strategy, but also economics, international affairs, the European Communities, Africa and Algeria, Eastern Europe, and the internal organization of the movement. PDF p. 9.

Sunday, 31 January

The final day was devoted to:

• the report of the Credentials Commission;
• the political resolution;
• the organizational resolution;
• elections to the Central Committee;
• the Control Commission;
• the Disputes Commission.

The official proclamation of the election results was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PDF p. 10.

The General Political Resolution was adopted by:

471 mandates in favour and 9 against.

The final text begins at approximately PDF p. 95.

The resolution opened with a very strong criticism of the existing European situation. The Congress:

• deplored the fact that governments and parliaments still conceived Europe mainly in terms of intergovernmental cooperation;
• denounced the revival of nationalism, including under the formula of an “Europe of Fatherlands”;
• recognized the importance of integration among the Six, while judging the methods followed to be insufficient;
• argued that Europe required a federal government subject to democratic control.

The document therefore went beyond a call for increased cooperation: it advocated an actual transfer and transformation of sovereignty.

Economic and social policy

The MFE supported a European policy based on:

• economic expansion;
• full employment;
• social progress;
• European coordination of economic policy;
• overcoming purely national economic policies.

The aim was to transfer to European federal institutions those powers of direction and regulation that national states were increasingly unable to exercise effectively.

International policy

The resolution explicitly criticized a number of national policies, including those of:

• Britain;
• France;
• Germany;
• Italy;
• Belgium;
• the Netherlands.

The central argument was that none of the European states, acting alone, was any longer capable of pursuing a genuinely independent world policy.

A European federal government, by contrast, would automatically constitute a major power capable of participating as a protagonist in:

• international negotiations;
• security questions;
• disarmament;
• scientific research;
• technological competition;
• policy toward Eastern Europe.

Africa and decolonization

The Congress regarded Africa’s advance toward independence as a “très grand événement” — a very great event — but feared the proliferation of small nationalisms.

The federalist answer proposed was twofold:

European federation + large African federations, linked by relations of cooperation and equality, replacing former colonial structures.

A specific motion on Algeria was also approved after a rather intense confrontation between differing positions.

Here the continuity with Spinelli and with the strategy of the Congress of the European People is particularly clear.

The Congress:

reaffirmed the struggle for the convening of a European Constituent Assembly directly and freely elected by the European people.

The Constitution of the United States of Europe would then have to be submitted to democratic ratification by the peoples concerned.

The Congress also recognized the Congress of the European People (CPE) and its European primary elections as among the most effective instruments for building an autonomous popular base for federalism.

The Central Committee was therefore instructed to develop particularly close cooperation with the CPE.

This is one of the features that clearly distinguished the MFE of this period from simple institutional Europeanism: the aim was not merely to influence national governments, but to create an autonomous European political force capable of challenging the political monopoly of the nation-states.

The file also preserves the official document entitled “Election des organes directeurs du M.F.E.”, on PDF pp. 156–157.

The electoral figures were:

548 registered mandates
544 votes cast
9 invalid ballots
535 valid votes

Central Committee — elected by the Congress

The ranking is politically interesting: Marc, Rifflet, Giacchero, and Delmas occupied the first four places, while Spinelli ranked twelfth with 462 votes. Mario Albertini also entered the Central Committee with 419 votes.

Candidates not elected

The document also records the votes received by the remaining candidates:

• Steidler — 279
• von Schenck — 277
• Magnant — 190
• Montanari — 182
• Bertaux — 181
• Dollfus — 142
• Salmon — 105
• Wilhelm — 104
• Donner — 91
• Mlle Josephy — 75
• Mme Decamps — 58
• Mme Le Maresquier — 19
• Peschard — 19.

6. Central Committee members designated by national delegations

The statutes provided that the members elected directly by the Congress would be joined by additional members designated by national or territorial delegations.

The document lists:

Belgium

• Pierre Lucion
• Jean Verheyen

France

• Alfred Biedermann
• Christian Brunet
• Dominique Magnant
• Roger Sibille

Italy

• Giulio Cesoni
• Andrea Chiti-Batelli
• Guido Comessatti
• Gianni Merlini

Europa-Union Switzerland

As an associated organization:

• Jeanne Hersch
• Thomas Raeber

It is therefore important to distinguish between the 24 members elected directly by the Congress and the members later designated by the national or territorial delegations.

7. Control Commission

Those elected were:

PDF p. 157.

8. Disputes Commission

Those elected were: