Ventotene Manifesto
Encyclopedia
The Ventotene Manifesto is a political statement written by Altiero Spinelli
and by Ernesto Rossi
while they were prisoners on the Italian island of Ventotene
during World War II
. Completed in June 1941, the Manifesto was circulated within the Italian Resistance
, and it soon became the programme of the Movimento Federalista Europeo
. The Manifesto encouraged a federation of European states, which was meant to keep the countries of Europe close, thus preventing war.
The most important assessment was the acknowledgment that
This statement was in contrast with the idea, then prevailing, that unity could be achieved almost naturally and only as a secondary goal, after the attainment of political purposes (communism, democracy and so on) in individual countries.
Altiero Spinelli
Altiero Spinelli was an Italian political theorist and a European federalist. Spinelli is referred to as one of the "Founding Fathers of the European Union" due to his co-authorship of the Ventotene Manifesto, his founding role in the European federalist movement, his strong influence on the first...
and by Ernesto Rossi
Ernesto Rossi
Ernesto Rossi was an Italian politician, journalist and anti-fascist activist. His ideas contributed to the Partito d'Azione, and subsequently the Partito Radicaleco-authur of the Ventotene Manifesto. Rossi was born in Caserta....
while they were prisoners on the Italian island of Ventotene
Ventotene
Ventotene, in Roman times known as Pandataria or Pandateria from the Greek Pandoteira, is one of the Pontine Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Gaeta right at the border between Lazio and Campania, Italy...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Completed in June 1941, the Manifesto was circulated within the Italian Resistance
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, and it soon became the programme of the Movimento Federalista Europeo
Movimento Federalista Europeo
The European Federalist Movement was founded in Milan in 1943 by a group of activists led by Altiero Spinelli...
. The Manifesto encouraged a federation of European states, which was meant to keep the countries of Europe close, thus preventing war.
The most important assessment was the acknowledgment that
- "the divide between progressive and reactionary parties no longer follows the formal line of greater or lesser democracy, or of more or less socialism to be instituted; rather the division falls along the line, very new and substantial, that separates those who still conceive the essential purpose and goal of struggle as the ancient one – that is, the conquest of national political power – and who, although involuntarily, act for the reactionary forces, letting the incandescent lava of popular passions set in the old moulds, thus allowing old absurdities to arise once again, and those who see the creation of a solid international State as the main purpose: they will direct popular forces toward this goal, and, should they win national power, will use it first and foremost as an instrument for achieving international unity".
This statement was in contrast with the idea, then prevailing, that unity could be achieved almost naturally and only as a secondary goal, after the attainment of political purposes (communism, democracy and so on) in individual countries.