Il ruolo della Gioventù federalista europea negli anni di Maastricht e della Convenzione europea

The role of the European Federalist Youth in the years of Maastricht and the European Convention

Abstract

The history of the movements for European unity was investigated in depth only until the 1980s, perhaps because of the role played in the European integration process by eminent figures as Jean Monnet and Altiero Spinelli, maybe for a time distance from events which has encouraged a wider and more problematic reading of the events, which also highlighted the contribution provided by non-governmental and non-institutional actors. In the period following the entry into force of the European Single Act, however, it has been written relatively little, despite the commitment spent by the movements both in Italy and in other countries of the Continent even in more recent years. This essay focuses on the affairs of the Gioventù federalista europea (GFE), the Italian section of Jeunesse fédéraliste européenne, during the period between the end of the eighties and the early years of the new century, concentrating in particular on the debate that accompanied the Treaty of Maastricht and on the subject of the European Convention, in which the original experience of the Youth Convention on the future of Europe is included.