Exclusive interviews with eyewitnesses and key players in the European integration process

 

For more than 20 years now, accounts from people who have witnessed and been involved in the major events that have shaped the European integration process have been recorded and published on CVCE.eu. Researchers in European integration studies have recorded or filmed more than a hundred interviews. Over 160 hours of footage has been published in full and in the form of selected excerpts, which can also be consulted in the thematic sections.

 

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Aims and methodology

 

The interviews are chiefly conducted for academic purposes, to provide new primary sources for researchers specialising in European studies. These sources often represent a useful complement to existing resources and archive material, offering a new perspective. They also constitute an important legacy, as both the result of a process of academic research and the starting point for further investigation.

 

The interviews are semi-structured; they are based on a questionnaire which includes biographical questions and questions on specific research topics. Before drawing up the questionnaire, the researchers identify the main themes on which the interviewee is likely to be able to offer valuable information or a particular viewpoint. The questionnaire is sent to the interviewee, who is free to make any adjustments he or she considers appropriate. The aim is for the interview to provide as much relevant information as possible.

 

Each interview has its own section in the form of a dedicated web page. The interviews are systematically published in full and accompanied by a short biography of the interviewee. Each interview is also indexed by theme and selected excerpts are published to offer easy access to the topics covered. The full interview and the excerpts are all given a title and an explanatory caption which presents the content and sets it in context. Finally, a transcription of the interview is published in the dedicated online section, together with a translation into English and/or French.

 

The choice of people approached for an interview is primarily determined by the themes covered in the various research projects, the expertise they can offer and the extent to which they were involved in the events under study. The following people have been interviewed:

 

Individual interviews unrelated to specific projects: Egon Bahr, Paul Collowald, Édith Cresson, Jean François-Poncet, Nicole Fontaine, Bjørn Tore Godal, Bronislaw Geremek, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Élisabeth Guigou, Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen, Max Kohnstamm, Pierre Moscovici, Charles Rutten, Philippe de Schoutheete and António Vitorino.

 

Interviews connected with thematic research projects, including:

 

• The ‘Pierre Werner and Europe’ project, which provided an opportunity to interview figures from Luxembourg and Europe and record their memories and thoughts on Pierre Werner, his achievements and his approach to the European integration process. Interviewees include Étienne Davignon, Jacques Delors, Mark Eyskens, Luc Frieden, Jean-Claude Juncker, Wilfried Martens, Yves Mersch, Jacques Santer, Hans Tietmeyer, Henri Werner and Marie-Anne Werner.

 

• The ‘Spain and the European integration process: converging pathways’ project, which analysed the historical relationship between Spain and Europe from a broad perspective. The selection of interviewees was based on their responsibilities and roles during Spain’s negotiations for accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) and its subsequent integration into the EEC. The following figures were interviewed for this project: Enrique Barón Crespo, Josep Borrell Fontelles, Carlos María Bru Purón, José María Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado, Manuel Marín González, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, Marcelino Oreja Aguirre and Jordi Pujol i Soley.

 

• A project on Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, a former Italian central banker and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance, carried out in cooperation with ‘Notre Europe’ and the National Foundation for Political Science. The project provided new insights into his personality, approach and contribution to European and international economic and monetary affairs over the past 40 years. Interviewees were Giuliano Amato, Michel Camdessus, Étienne Davignon, Jacques Delors, Élisabeth Guigou, Alfonso Iozzo, Jacques de Larosière, Christian Noyer, Romano Prodi, Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, Jean-Claude Trichet and Ignazio Visco.

 

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