Churchill - United States of Europe

It is official! The iconic Sir Winston Churchill called for the creation of a ‘United States of Europe’ in his famous 1946 Zurich speech and Presided the first European Federal Congress at the Hague in 1948. He was one of the key fathers of a united Europe and set in motion ideas and events which would develop and grow to become the European Union.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill's Speech in the University of Zurich, 1946 - Parts 1 & 2 (English)

Deutsch: Im September 1946 rief Winston Churchill in einer Rede an der Universität Zürich dazu auf, „eine Art Vereinigte Staaten von Europa" zu errichten. Im selben Jahr fand ein Kongress der europäischen Föderalisten in Hertenstein in der Schweiz statt. Dort wurden zwölf Thesen verfasst, die als Hertensteiner Programm zur Grundlage der europäischen Arbeit der Nachkriegsjahre und zugleich zum politischen Gründungsdokument der Europa-Union Deutschland wurden. Ziel ist bis heute eine auf "föderativer Grundlage errichtete, europäische Gemeinschaft"

UK Roots Deep In 'United States Of Europe' | Rachel Maddow

Churchill – United States of Europe

It is official! The iconic Sir Winston Churchill called for the creation of a ‘United States of Europe’ in his famous 1946 Zurich speech and presided the first European Federal Congress at The Hague in 1948. He was one of the key fathers of a united Europe and set in motion ideas and events, which would develop and grow to become the European Union.

The Telegraph: Churchill, my grandfather, always loved Europe: Today, as in the Forties, it would be madness not to play our part in saving the Continent from disaster | Nicholas Soames | Friday, February 26, 2016

Eurozone Countries Should Form United States of Europe, Says EC Vice-President

Viviane Reding: 'Like Winston Churchill, I believe that the UK
not be part of this, but it should remain a close ally with the
federated eurozone.'

THE GUARDIAN: Viviane Reding calls for full fiscal and political union for 18 eurozone countries but says UK should remain apart

A "United States of Europe" should be formed by the 18 eurozone countries to stabilise the European single currency, a vice-president of the European commission says in a speech on Monday evening.

Speaking at the Cambridge University faculty of law, Viviane Reding borrows Winston Churchill's historic 1946 phrase as she called for a full fiscal and political union on much of the continent.

Delivering the Mackenzie Stuart lecture, Reding says: "There is a strong case for a true fiscal and ultimately political union. In my personal view, the eurozone should become the United States of Europe."

However, Reding endorses Churchill's view, outlined in his Zurich speech in 1946, that Britain should remain apart from the United States of Europe. » | Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | Monday, February 17, 2014

David Cameron 'Must Embrace Churchill's Vision of United States of Europe'

José Manuel Barroso

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The current generation of EU leaders, including David Cameron, must revive Winston Churchill's vision of a United States of Europe says José Manuel Barroso

David Cameron and other European Union leaders need to show the same political courage and vision of Winston Churchill's call for "a kind of United States of Europe", José Manuel Barroso has said.

The European Commission president has urged the EU of today to emulate the wartime British Conservative leader's call, made in a 1948 speech, for deeper integration in Europe.

"He was a man of foresight with an acute sense of history, often ahead of prevailing opinion, never shying away from saying what some might choose to ignore," he said.

"In today's fast-changing world, we certainly need the same geopolitical intelligence and strategic vision. We need the same courage to think beyond the immediacy of the next news cycle."

In comments that will be seen as an implicit criticism of the contemporary British Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron, Mr Barroso called on the current generation of European leaders to show the same Churchillian vision and courage.

"Churchill rightly said in 1948: 'We must aim at nothing less than the Union of Europe as a whole, and we look forward with confidence to the day when the Union will be achieved'," he said.

"We need to resist vested interests and short-termism. We need to have the courage to think ahead and be able to project and shape change - that's what leadership is about." » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Friday, November 08, 2013



My comment:

I would like to say what Sir Winston Churchill said at the end of his speech at the University of Zürich: "Let Europe arise!" I should also like to add: Let us go forward together, with a common purpose. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

My second comment is here