Giovanni Pieraccini, a six-times Italian deputy and senator, was present at the Sala Giulio Cesare in the Campidoglio when the ‘founding fathers’ of the European Union signed the Treaty of Rome. As a committed Europeanist (a proponent of further European integration), he has continued to work for a closer union, focusing his efforts on culture. He is one of the founders of the RomaEuropa Foundation, the organisation which organises the RomaEuropa Festival, one of the most diverse and dynamic festivals in the Italian capital.

Fifty years ago on March 25 the Treaty of Rome was signed in Rome. What were you doing on that historic day?
I was in the Sala Giolio Cesare of the Campidoglio, and I witnessed the signing of the Treaty. I remember the great solemnity of the moment and the presence of the great names who initiated the European Union, back then the European Community. I think that only a few of the witnesses are still around today. There are men like Andreotti, Colombo and others who are still alive, but I think that few of us remain.

Why were you there that day?
I was at the Campidoglio because I was an MP and one of the leaders of the Italian Socialist Party. The Party had been divided on the European question for many years. But in 1957, fortunately I say, it was not against the birth of Europe.

Was there a sense back then of the historical significance of the occasion?
Yes, we could feel it. For me, as a long time Europeanist, it was an emotional moment; it was as if a horizon much larger than that of our own national history, which was so troubled, was opening up. For Italy it was something even more important, because it was like rediscovering our European history. Let’s not forget that we were coming out of two centuries of exacerbated nationalism, or even imperialism, that put the focus on the inside of the nation and less, obviously, on the European relationship.

Looking back now, do you think that there could have been a better way to start a European union?
Personally, and perhaps like every Europeanist, I would have imagined another start, a union more political than economic. But we should not forget that there had just been the failure of the EDC, the European Defence Community [rejected by the French parliament in August 1954 – Ed.]. So I have to say that even if the launch through economic agreements, as was essentially the Treaty of Rome, was not ideal for us, it may have been the only one possible. In fact, I have to say that history has shown the rightness of that position, because starting from an economic union, little by little the discourse has also spread to political issues.

Jean Monnet, regarded as the architect of the European Union, said, “If I were to start anew, I would start from culture.” What do you think of this?
It is a famous phrase that I have quoted many times. Actually, I have read that he might not have said it at all. (laughs) But there is something true and quite deep about starting with culture. It is difficult to build a union, and even more so a confederation, on just economic agreements, or even economic and political agreements, if there is not a common feeling of belonging from the people who form this union.

Is this one of the reasons why you founded the RomaEuropa Foundation?
Yes. As its name indicates, RomaEuropa is a foundation in which 26 countries collaborate. It aims to work for a cultural union of all Europeans and reciprocal knowledge of each other’s cultures, although, naturally, we are not closed to dialogue with other civilisations and have done several such projects. In my opinion, feeling ‘European’ is still quite rare. Of course, it is difficult to find a European who thinks of going back to dividing and enclosing each in his own nation, but it is also true that many people still fundamentally feel French, German, English or Italian first, and then European. There is still a lot of work to do if we want to move towards a political union and, I hope, towards a federation.

Concretely, how can Europe be united culturally?
With initiatives such as the RomaEuropa Foundation, for example, and there are many others. I also think more should be done at school. Of course, they do talk about the European Union in schools, but I don’t think that they teach children about what unites Europeans, about their cultural history. It is a history that is characterised by many dramas, such as its wars and the totalitarian aberrations of the twentieth century; the gulags, the Holocaust, imperialism... But it is also the history that brought about values such as liberty, democracy and social justice. These are European values around which we need to unite not only in a constitution but also in a sentiment.

Interview by Corentin Wauters
March 2007