Formation | July 1947 |
---|---|
Type | Lobbying association |
Headquarters | 21 rue Marie-Thérèse, Brussels |
Location | |
President
|
Jo Leinen, MEP |
Key people
|
Eva Maydell, Frédéric Vallier, Bernd Hüttemann, Natasa Owens, Ugo Ferruta, Jean Marie Cavada |
Website | www.europeanmovement.eu |
The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it.
The origins of the European Movement date to July 1947, when the cause of a united Europe was being promoted by notables such as Duncan Sandys in the form of the Anglo-French United European Movement. The UEM acted as a platform for the co-ordination of the organisations created in the wake of World War II. As a result of their efforts, the congress of The Committee for the Co-ordination of the European Movements took place in Paris 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.
From 7 to 11 May 1948, 800 delegates from Europe and observers from Canada and the United States gathered in The Hague, the Netherlands for the Congress of Europe. Organised by the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity and presided over by Winston Churchill, the Congress brought together representatives from across a broad political spectrum, providing them with the opportunity to discuss ideas about the development of European Union. Important political figures such as Konrad Adenauer, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, Bertrand Russell, François Mitterrand, Paul-Henri Spaak, Albert Coppé and Altiero Spinelli took an active role in the congress and a call was launched for a political, economic and monetary Union of Europe. This landmark conference was to have a profound influence on the shape of the European Movement, which was created soon afterwards.