On 8 December 1949, in his opening address at the European Conference on Culture held in Lausanne, the writer and former Spanish diplomat, Salvador de Madariaga, emphasises the need for post-war Europe to unite around the values of freedom and respect for the individual in order for it to gain a better awareness of itself and its culture.

On 9 August 1952, on the eve of the session inaugurating the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in Luxembourg, the Luxembourg daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort publishes an article by Lambert Schaus, a former Luxembourg Minister, analysing the limitation of national sovereignty under the Schuman Plan.

On 18 July 1961, at a meeting in Bad Godesberg, a suburb of Bonn, the Heads of State or Government of the Six reiterate their determination to continue their efforts to achieve political union in Europe.

On 22 April 1971, with a view to the first enlargement of the European Communities, Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), welcomes the significant contribution of the stable democratic structures of the acceding states to the unification of Europe and to the establishment of a European order of peace.

In its issue of July and August 1971, the federalist journal L’Europe en formation looks critically at the operation of the Common Market and reproaches the European Communities for being too abstract in the eyes of European citizens.

On 13 December 1973, commenting on the Copenhagen European Summit, the French Communist daily newspaper L’Humanité speculates on the future European identity.

Meeting in Copenhagen on 14 and 15 December 1973, the Heads of State or Government of the nine Member States of the enlarged European Community ‘declare their intention of converting their entire relationship into a European Union before the end of this decade.'

On 13 December 1974, Franz Karasek, Austrian Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, submits a report in which he condemns the inadequacy of the results achieved after a quarter of a century of European cultural cooperation.

On 8 January 1976, the Luxembourg daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort comments on the main elements of the Tindemans Report on European Union, which recommends, in particular, the strengthening of the Community institutions.

On 20 February 1976, German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describes the significance of the election of the European Parliament (EP) by direct universal suffrage.

Article from the Luxembourg daily newspaper Lëtzebuerger Journal of 28 January 1977, looking back over the institutional development of the European Parliament from its establishment to the adoption by the Council, on 20 September 1976, of the decision enabling the holding of the first election by direct universal suffrage. Until the elections, therefore, the European Parliament becomes a Parliament in transition. The article also explains the powers of the European Parliament as well as the situation of the political groups in July 1976.

On 31 May 1977, Louis de Guiringaud, French Foreign Minister, explains to the Senate the complexity of future accession negotiations with the European Communities and argues in favour of a reform of the Community institutions before any further enlargement takes place.

The ‘Europe 1992’ operation seeks to prepare the 12 Member States of the European Communities for the establishment of the single market. In its 9 May 1988 edition, the German magazine Der Spiegel analyses the obstacles to be overcome in order to achieve this objective.

In its Opinion of 21 October 1990, the European Commission advocates a single Community that will encompass the Community policies and European Political Cooperation (EPC), making them subject to the same institutions and to the same decision-making procedures.

On 9 February 1994, Fernand Herman, on behalf of the Committee on Institutional Affairs for which he is rapporteur, submits a draft Constitution of the European Union to the European Parliament.

In its resolution of 10 February 1994, the European Parliament ‘notes with satisfaction’ the work of the Committee on Institutional Affairs which has resulted in a draft Constitution for the European Union, as submitted by its rapporteur, Fernand Herman, and annexes the draft to the resolution so that it may be as widely disseminated as possible.

On 27 March 1995, the British daily newspaper The Guardian comments on the entry into force of the Schengen Convention of 19 June 1990 in Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Article published in December 2000 in a special edition of the Human Rights Information Bulletin of the Council of Europe to mark the 50th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights. With the help of examples, the article illustrates the influence of case-law concerning the Convention in the different member States of the Council of Europe.

On 11 June 2000, Hubert Védrine, French Foreign Minister, gives his response to the proposals submitted the previous day by his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, on the aims of the European Union and gives his own views on the notions of federation and a Federation of Nation States.

On 27 April 2002, at a conference held in Brussels, Jean-Luc Dehaene, former Belgian Prime Minister and Vice-President of the Convention on the Future of Europe, emphasises the implications of the Convention and explains why this method was chosen in order to define the future of a united Europe.

On 12 May 2005 in Dublin, Bertie Ahern, Irish Prime Minister, delivers an address in which he emphasises the importance of a Constitution for the European Union and stresses his country’s commitment to the European cause.

Meeting in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005 for the organisation’s Third Summit, the Heads of State or Government of the member states of the Council of Europe undertake to promote the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law and to guarantee cultural diversity, security and the fight against discrimination. In the implementation of these core objectives, the complementarity of the Council of Europe and other organisations must be ensured.

In this interview, published on 12 June 2005 in the Spanish daily newspaper El País to mark the 20th anniversary of Spain’s accession to the European Communities, former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González recalls the feelings of confidence and fear that were created by Spanish accession, analyses the reactions to the European Union’s fifth enlargement and offers some ideas for overcoming the stagnation of the European economic and social model.

On 11 April 2006, Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg Prime Minister, submits to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe a report on relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union. The report, drawn up in a personal capacity at the request of the Heads of State or Government of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe, meeting at the Warsaw Summit on 16 and 17 May 2005, sets out recommendations for the improvement of cooperation and coordination between the two organisations.

On 12 March 2008, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, gives an address in the Hemicycle in Strasbourg to mark the 50th anniversary of the constituent meeting of the European Parliamentary Assembly.

In this interview, Bronislaw Geremek, Polish historian and politician, former member of the social movement Solidarnosc, former Foreign Minister and former Member of the European Parliament, discusses the question of a common identity for all the citizens of Europe.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and currently a member of the Political Bureau of the European People's Party (EPP), describes the evolution of the EPP, its identity and its political ideology.

In this interview, Willem van Eekelen, Netherlands Minister for Defence from 1986 to 1988 and Secretary-General of Western European Union (WEU) from 1989 to 1994, recalls the origins of the concept of a European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI), first seen in 1991, as well as his own role in the implementation of this concept.