MARIO ALBERTINI

L'Europa sulla soglia dell'unione  

N. 4/1985

Summary — Many years since, the debate on how to make the European unification gain ground is inadequate. It is worth while, then, to recollect that at the beginning of the process an ample debate was held on the way to be followed in order to attain the aim. Two hypotheses emerged: that one of functionalism, namely of the necessity of creating functional European areas starting from ambits where European interest was more clearly perceivable, and that one of constitutionalism, formulated and upheld with great clearness by Altiero Spinelli. With Jean Monnet and the foundation of the first Community, the CECA (conceived as a means of setting up "les premières assises concrètes d’une fédération européenne") the idea prevailed of exploiting the possibilities of functionalism to arrive at the constitutionalism.

On the basis of this idea, which at least in some degrees actually reflects what happened, a scheme of analysis can be worked out which assigns distinct meanings to the three terms: unfication, integration and construction, and describes the process as a unification (global aspect) which depends on the different degrees of integration (ascertainable with the functional criterion) made possible each time by the different degrees of institutional construction (ascertainable with the constitutional criterion).

With this scheme it is easy to verify that the unification is stagnating for many years (the Common Market has not become a real internal market) just because the process of construction having come to a halt — still subordinated to the legislative and executive monopoly of the Cabinet Ministers (national) and to its consequence, the right of veto — also the process of integration is at a standstill. It is obvious that with the right of veto common policies in the monetary, industrial, technological, social, etc. fields cannot develop; and it is just as evident that without such policies the Common Market cannot be changed into a market with no internal frontiers.

The governments, implicitly and in a confused manner, have recognized these aspects of the situation, declaring, since 1972, their intention of constructing the European Union. Their attempts were unsuccessful as they have entrusted to national officials the task of elaborating projects and plans, not realizing that only a political body whose reason for existence is Europe can work out an effective project of Union. But the set-back suffered by the governments was off-set by the European Parliament which has been able to elaborate a satisfactory project, has proved to have sufficient power to impose it on everybody’s attention, governments included, thus succeeding in bringing Europe again on the threshold of Union. This does not mean that success is within reach, but it certainly signifies that in the struggle for Europe a new phase has begun with a new protagonist.