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Fact Sheet (Text n°4269) FR EN DE
Thoughts of Altiero Spinelli (16 December 1974)
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Thoughts of Altiero Spinelli (16 December 1974)

At the Paris Summit of 9 and 10 December 1974, the meetings of the Heads of State or Government are put on a formal footing. After that date, such meetings are known as meetings of the European Council. Altiero Spinelli, Member of the European Commission, fears that this constitutes a step backwards towards a situation where intergovernmental conciliation procedures will be given precedence over the Community method. Spinelli sees the determination of the Heads of Government to arrogate to themselves the determining of ‘the overall concept of the EU' as a threat to the role of the Commission as the originator of political initiatives.

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Title Thoughts of Altiero Spinelli (16 December 1974)
Document type Text
Source Archives historiques des Communautés européennes, Florence, Villa Il Poggiolo. Dépôts, DEP. Emanuele Gazzo, EG. Les institutions et les organes communautaires, EG.B.A. Commission, EG.B.A-04. Commission des Communautés européennes: présidences Ortoli, Jenkins et Thorn, EG-95. Translated by the CVCE.
Keywords EC Commission, European Council, Paris European Council, power of initiative
Copyright © Translation Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe (CVCE).
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Caption At the Paris Summit of 9 and 10 December 1974, the meetings of the Heads of State or Government are put on a formal footing. After that date, such meetings are known as meetings of the European Council. Altiero Spinelli, Member of the European Commission, fears that this constitutes a step backwards towards a situation where intergovernmental conciliation procedures will be given precedence over the Community method. Spinelli sees the determination of the Heads of Government to arrogate to themselves the determining of ‘the overall concept of the EU' as a threat to the role of the Commission as the originator of political initiatives.
Location in the digital library EUROPEAN ORGANISATIONS >> European Union >> The EU institutions >> Council >> European Council
Document extract Altiero Spinelli’s thoughts on the tasks faced by the Commission after the Summit of 9 and 10 December 1974 Letter from Altiero Spinelli, Member of the Commission of the European Communities, to his fellow Commissioners Brussels, 16 December 1974 Dear Colleagues, Outlined below, for your kind consideration, are the ideas that I propose to uphold within the Commission at our forthcoming meetings, where the President would like us to define our political strategy following the recent Conference of the Heads of Government. Honesty compels me to warn you that the outcome of these discussions will determine whether I stay on as a Commissioner, confident that the Commission is fully committed to the arduous political task of taking forward the process of European integration, or whether I decide that there is no such commitment and therefore resign. Kindest regards, [Signed: Altiero Spinelli] Altiero Spinelli’s thoughts on the tasks faced by the Commission after the Summit of 9 and 10 December 1974 European union as a federal structure The meeting of Heads of Government held on 9 and 10 December 1974 declared t (...) Read more in ENA
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ENA is the first digital library documenting the history of European integration. It is freely available online and provides access to a wealth of multimedia, multilingual and multisource material that will help you learn more about the history of Europe from 1945 to the present day. ENA is developed by the Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe (Virtual Resource Centre for Knowledge about Europe — CVCE).