Our History

 

“dreams and ideals for a continent ravaged by wars”

 

 

Our origins
 

The European Movement (International) was founded in 1948 by the pioneers of Europe such as Churchill, Adenauer and de Gasperi. Politicians and idealists gathered at the Congress in The Hague with the ambitious goal of preserving Europe. This historic congress was one of the initiatives taken to banish war and division from our continent once and for all and to ensure peace, stability and cooperation.

 

The European Movement in Belgium since 1949


The Belgian Council of the European Movement, founded in 1949 under the inspiration of presidents like Paul Henri Spaak and Jean Rey has been very successful for years. However, a difficult financial situation and the election of the European Parliament by universal suffrage in 1979 (which seemed to some to be the ideal relay between the Community and its citizens) brought the EMB to scuttlement. At the beginning of the 1980s, the association was dissolved in a context where the European idea had progressed well and where its function of encouraging the Belgian authorities and people to adopt a pro-European attitude was less necessary. Nevertheless, in 1992, following the Danish and French referenda on the Maastricht Treaty, the European Movement in Belgium was relaunched by a few personalities like our late honorary president Willy De Clercq, after the observation of the existence of a growing gap between European integration and public opinion.

 

Today


Today it is again not easy for organizations such as the European Movement to survive financially. Yet Europe is in crisis. Current events bear witness to the population's desire for more democracy, transparency and participation. At the same time, while the EU struggles to cope with many problems, the 'eurosceptics' present Europe as the cause of all these ills. As the Danish and French referendums alerted our organization in 1992, the financial crisis, the refugee crisis and the consequences of the British referendum to leave the EU ('Brexit') are having a similar effect. In this context, the action and the philosophy of the European Movement seem absolutely relevant and necessary to us.