From the 1948 Hague Congress to the Conference on the Future of Europe

“To rebuild Europe from its ruins and make its light shine forth again upon the world, we must first of all conquer ourselves,” Winston Churchill said on 7 May 1948. He was addressing the participants to the five-day Congress of Europe in The Hague who had gathered there from 17 European countries to discuss what was next for Europe. Representatives from another 10 countries, including the USA and Canada, participated as observers.

About 750 politicians, philosophers, journalists, church leaders, lawyers, professors, entrepreneurs and historians took an active role in the congress, which ran from 7 May to 11 May. Among the prominent politicians participating were Konrad Adenauer, Harold Macmillan, Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, Pierre-Henri Teitgen, François Mitterrand, Paul Reynaud, Édouard Daladier, Paul Ramadier, Paul van Zeeland, Albert Coppé and Altiero Spinelli. Churchill was the congress’s honorary president.

The event

The 75th anniversary of The Hague Congress offers a great occasion to reflect about its lasting legacy, to look back to other events in the EU’s integration history that have inspired the idea of a united Europe and to evaluate more recent initiatives like the Conference on the Future of Europe. Indeed, it offers an occasion to evaluate the degree to which we have conquered ourselves.

The House of European History will organise on 9 May a panel debate that will discuss these issues. Interested individuals can register to participate either onsite or online. A keynote lecture will launch the different narratives of a united Europe, les petites histoires, as well as the bigger picture of integration history. It will be followed by the debate and a discussion with the audience. Before the debate, the House will offer an onsite guided visit on European integration.

Programme

• 18h30-19h15 : Guided visit of the permanent exhibition on the theme of European Integration (onsite)
• 19h30-21h00 : Panel Debate followed by Q&A with the audience (online & onsite)

Panelists: Brigitte Leucht, Timofey Agarin, Cristina Blanco Sio-Lopez, Jacopo Cellini

Moderator: Steven Van Hecke