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The European Movement International is a
lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...
association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
, and disseminating information about it.


History

The origins of the European Movement date to July 1947, when the cause of a united
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
was being promoted by
Duncan Sandys Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys (; 24 January 1908 – 26 November 1987), was a British politician and minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a son-in-law of Winston Churchill and played a key ro ...
in the form of the Anglo-French United European Movement (UEM). The UEM acted as a platform for the co-ordination of the organisations created in the wake of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. As a result of their efforts, the congress of The Committee for the Co-ordination of the European Movements took place in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
on 17 July 1947 incorporating "La Ligue Européenne de Coopération Economique" (LECE), "l'Union Européenne des Fédéralistes" (UEF), "l'Union Parlementaire Européenne" (UPE) and the Anglo-French United European Movements. They met again on 10 November 1947 and changed their name to The Joint International Committee for European Unity. They retained this name until after the 1948
Congress of The Hague The Hague Congress or the Congress of Europe, considered by many as the first federal moment in European history, was held in The Hague from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates participating from around Europe as well as observers from Canada and ...
. From 7 to 11 May 1948, 800 delegates from Europe and observers from Canada and the United States gathered in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
for the
Congress of Europe The Hague Congress or the Congress of Europe, considered by many as the first federal moment in European history, was held in The Hague from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates participating from around Europe as well as observers from Canada and ...
. Organised by the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity and presided over by Winston Churchill, the Congress discussed ideas about the development of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. Politicians such as
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
,
Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...
,
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
,
François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
,
Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the i ...
, Albert Coppé and
Altiero Spinelli Altiero Spinelli (31 August 1907 – 23 May 1986) was an Italian politician, political theorist and European federalist, referred to as one of the founding fathers of the European Union. A communist and militant anti-fascist in his youth, he spe ...
took an active role in the congress and a call was launched for a political, economic and monetary Union of Europe. This conference had a profound influence on the shape of the European Movement, which was created soon afterwards. The European Movement was formally created on 25 October 1948, when the Joint International Committee for European Unity decided to change its name. Duncan Sandys was elected
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...
, Winston Churchill,
Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953. De Gasp ...
and Paul-Henri Spaak were elected as Honorary Presidents. The U.S. policy was to promote a United States of Europe, and to this end the
American Committee on United Europe The American Committee on United Europe (ACUE), founded in 1948, was a private American organization that sought to counter communism in Europe by promoting European federalism. Its first chairman was former head of the Office of Strategic Services ...
committee was used to discreetly funnel CIA funds to such organisations as this.telegraph.co.uk: "Euro-federalists financed by US spy chiefs" 19 Sep 2000
/ref> Initially the European Movement in the 1940s brought together "federalists and European unionists". The federalists, organised mainly in the European Union of Federalists, sought "an abatement of national sovereignty" whilst the unionists aimed "at creating an association of states as close as is compatible with the retention of national sovereign independence." In May 1949, the European Movement played a significant role in encouraging ten European states to create the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
, and to begin work on drafting a charter of rights, which eventually became the
European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
. The European Movement was also responsible for the creation of the
College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...
in
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
and the European Center of Culture in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. One of its major functions during the 1950s through to the 1990s was the setting up of
think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...
s and a network of discussion groups across Europe, in countries both democratic and Communist. Since 1948, the European Movement has lobbied for further integration, on numerous subjects. It worked in favour of the direct election of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
by all European
citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
, in favour of the Treaty on the European Union (the
Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
) and also for a
European Constitution The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...
.


Presidents


Secretaries General


Activities

The Movement's various Councils and Associations, under the co-ordination of the European Movement International (EMI), work to influence European decision-makers - associations, governments, politicians, political parties, enterprises, trade unions and individual lobbyists - to promote
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
. The EM also works as a study and information group operating through various projects and activities, and publishes information on European affairs and activities.


Organisation

The Movement's central office, located at Place de Luxembourg in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, is headed up by a President and six Vice-Presidents. Honorary Presidents, generally prominent European politicians, are also elected, but hold no executive powers. The current President of the EMI is Eva Maydell, MEP. The management of the organisation is drawn from across Europe.


International Associations

The EMI has several International Member Associations. These include civil society organisations, business and trade unions, NGOs, political parties, local authorities and academia.


Supporting Members

*
College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...
* Foundation
Euractiv Euractiv (styled EURACTIV) is a pan-European news website specialised in EU policies, founded in 1999 by the French media publisher Christophe Leclercq. Its headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Brussels,with further offices in ...
* The Kosovar Civil Society Foundation - KCSF


National Councils

At national level there are National Councils in 39 countries, organized in a very diverse way. In principle national councils of all countries which are members of the Council of Europe can join the European Movement. Only on national level the EM has youth branches.


Board

Policy is formulated by a Board, the chairmanship of which is held by the President. A 'Federal Assembly', made up of delegates from all member organisations foments policies for the EMI and is in charge of the organisation's Auditors. Several specialist committees, devoted to the discussion of individual policies exist as well. The current Political Committees are: More Democracy, Citizens' Rights and Freedom; Jobs, Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth; and Europe in the World. Day-to-day office-work is performed by the staff, which is led by a Secretary General, who since 2015 has been Petros Fassoulas. Current Members of the Board are: President - Eva Maydell; Secretary General - Petros Fassoulas; Vice-presidents - Brando Benifei, Yves Bertoncini, Tobias Köck, Noelle O'Connell, Valeria Ronzitti, Frédéric Vallier; Treasurer - Nataša Owens; Board members - Aku Aarva, Francisco Aldecoa Luzárranga, Antonio Argenziano, Veronika Chmelárová, Marco Cilento, Sina Frank,
Monica Frassoni Monica Frassoni (born 10 September 1963) is an Italian politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009 and as co-chair of the European Green Party from 2009 to 2019. In 2018, she was elected at the local Council of ...
, Patrizia Heidegger, Olivier Hinnekens, Zvezdana Kovač, Roselyne Lefrançois, Richard Morris.Se
Homepage EMI
/ref>


See also

*
European Integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
* European Movement Belgium *
European Movement Germany European Movement Germany (EM Germany) is a non-partisan network of interest groups in the field of EU politics in Germany. It cooperates closely with all EU stakeholders on a national and European level, most particularly with the German Federal ...
*
European Movement Ireland European Movement Ireland (EM Ireland) ( ga, Gluaiseacht na hEorpa in Éirinn) is an independent not-for-profit organisation that campaigns for every Irish person to get involved in the European Union and by doing so, help shape it. It is the ol ...
*
European Movement UK The European Movement UK is an independent all-party pressure group in the United Kingdom which campaigns for a close relationship with European Union, and to ensure that European values, standards, and rights are upheld in British law post-Brexi ...
*
Politics of Europe The politics of Europe deals with the continually evolving politics within the continent of Europe. It is a topic far more detailed than other continents due to a number of factors including the long history of nation states in the region as ...


References


External links


Official websiteHistorical fonds
of European Movement at the Historical Archives of the EU in Florence {{Authority control Eurofederalism Cross-European advocacy groups Organizations established in 1947