Speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich (September 19, 1946)
- The origins of the European idea (Before 1918)
- The European idea at the beginning of the 20th century (1918-1944)
- The beginnings of European integration (1945-1956)
- From the Six to the Nine (1957-1973)
- Overcoming the crises (1974-1984)
- The relaunch of the European idea (1985-1991)
- The birth of 'political union' (1992-2008)
- The poet Hesiod is the first to refer to the myth of Europa (-8th century BCE)
- The apogee of the Roman Empire (2th century CE)
- Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the West (800)
- The abdication of Charles V puts an end to his dream of unifying Christendom (1556)
- Johannes Althusius, the first thinker on federalism (1603)
- Coronation of Napoleon (1804)
- Saint-Simon proposes the creation of a European Parliament (1814)
- The awakening of the nations inspires Victor Hugo's speech on the United States of Europe (August 21, 1849)
- Louise Weiss and the pacifist movement (1918)
- Creation of the Pan-Europa movement (November 1922)
- The League of Nations, a platform for Europe (1922)
- The Treaty of Locarno, the first step towards Franco-German rapprochement (October 16, 1925)
- The New Order, for a humane Europe (1930)
- The European movement in the Resistance (1941)
- Winston Churchill writes a memorandum on the United States of Europe (1942)
- The Hague Congress (May 7-May 10, 1948)
- Creation of the OEEC (April 16, 1948)
- The birth of NATO (April 4, 1949)
- Creation of the Council of Europe (May 5, 1949)
- The Schuman Declaration (May 9, 1950)
- Inaugural session of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe (August 10, 1949)
- Signing of the Treaty of Paris instituting the ECSC (April 18, 1951)
- France rejects the EDC (August 30, 1954)
- Conference of Messina (June 1955)
- Jean Monnet announces a new stage in European integration (October 14, 1955)
- Signing of the Treaties of Rome (March 25, 1957)
- Creation of the European Social Fund (January 11, 1960)
- De Gaulle on Europe (May 15, 1962)
- Launch of the CAP (July 30, 1962)
- Signing of the Elysée Treaty (January 22, 1963)
- Signing of the treaty merging the Community executives (April 8, 1965)
- Beginning of the 'empty chair crisis' (July 1, 1965)
- De Gaulle calls for realism in European matters (December 14, 1965)
- The United Kingdom seeks to join the European Communities (January 31, 1967)
- Entry into force of the Customs Union (July 1, 1968)
- Georges Pompidou speaks of a supranational Europe (January 21, 1971)
- Entry into force of the European 'currency snake' (April 24, 1972)
- First enlargement of the Communities (January 1, 1973)
- The Paris Summit (December 9-December 10, 1974)
- The first Lomé Accords (February 28, 1975)
- Creation of the European Monetary System (July 7, 1978)
- First elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (June 10, 1979)
- Ariane, a success for European cooperation (December 24, 1979)
- Greece becomes a member of the European Communities (January 1, 1981)
- The European Council at Fontainebleau brings an end to the budget crisis (June 25-June 26, 1984)
- Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand shake hands at Verdun (September 22, 1984)
- Presentation of the White Paper by Jacques Delors (June 14, 1985)
- Enlargement of the Communities to take in Spain and Portugal (January 1, 1986)
- Signing of the Single European Act (February 17, 1986)
- Launch of the Erasmus programme (June 30, 1987)
- Fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989)
- Informal European Council in Paris (November 18, 1989)
- Germany reunited within the European Communities (October 30, 1990)
- Signing of the Maastricht Treaty on European Union (February 7, 1992)
- Enlargement of the European Union to take in Austria, Finland and Sweden (1995)
- Signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam (October 2, 1997)
- Jacques Santer promises to introduce the euro (March 25, 1998)
- Inauguration of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt (June 30, 1998)
- The Franco-British summit at Saint-Malo gives fresh impetus to European defence (December 4, 1998)
- Faced with revolt from MEPs, the Santer Commission prefers to resign (March 16, 1999)
- Signing of the Treaty of Nice (February 26, 2001)
- The euro in the pockets of European consumers (January 1, 2002)
- Enlargement of the European Union to take in ten new members (May 1, 2004)
- Signing of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (October 29, 2004)
- ITER and Galileo: Europe at the forefront of science (2005)
- Bulgaria and Romania join the 25 (January 1, 2007)
- 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome (March 25, 2007)
- Signing of the Treaty of Lisbon (2007)
September 19, 1946
Speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich
On 19 September 1946, Winston Churchill made a speech at the University of Zurich in which he invited the countries of Europe to form a 'United States of Europe'. The British Conservative leader put forward Franco-German reconciliation and the creation of a European organisation as the conditions for peace and freedom on the continent.