Page contents > Hague Congress (7-11 May 1948) | Council of Europe | Marcelino Oreja (1935-)
Hague Congress (7-11 May 1948)
Was attended by 800 delegates from around Europe, including politicians, writers, trade union leaders and company directors.
Winston Churchill presided over the event which focused on the development of European political co-operation and aimed to launch a political, economic and monetary union of Europe.
Many European politicians were involved in the discussions including Konrad Adenauer, Harold Macmillan, François Mitterrand, Paul-Henri Spaak, Albert Coppé, Bertrand Russell and Altiero Spinelli.
The Congress led to the creation of the Council of Europe, the College of Europe in Bruges and the European Centre of Culture in Geneva.
Click on the thumbnails for larger versions of the images.
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Invitation to the Congress of Europe at the Hague, issued by the Joint International Committee of the Movements for European Unity, 1948. Copyright of the European Movement UK. (MACKAY/13/6)
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Circular regarding the Congress of Europe at The Hague, published by the European Parliamentary Union, 1948. Copyright of the European Movement UK. (MACKAY/13/6)
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Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation working towards European integration in legal standards, human rights, democratic development and co-operation. It has 47 member states and is based at the Palais de l'Europe, Strasbourg.
The Council has its foundations in a speech given by Winston Churchill on 19 September 1946 at the University of Zurich where he called for a United States of Europe and the creation of a Council of Europe. At the Congress of Europe in 1948 it was decided that the Council would be divided into a Committee of Ministers and a Parliamentary Assembly.
The Council of Europe was officially founded on the 5 May 1949 by the Treaty of London, which was signed by 10 states: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
In 1959 the European Court of Human Rights was established which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights.
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Excerpt from a leaflet advertising the Council of Europe, 1988. Reproduced with permission of the Council of Europe. (FINSBERG/3/1/4)
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Photograph of an aerial view of the Palais de l'Europe, seat of the Council of Europe, 1988. Designed by Henry Barnard. Reproduced with permission of the Council of Europe. (FAULDS/3/1/1/10)
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Seating plan for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 15 September 1976. Reproduced with the permission of the Council of Europe. (FAULDS/3/1/1/6)
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Invitation addressed to Andrew Faulds to the inauguration ceremony of the Palais de l'Europe, Strasbourg, seat of the Council of Europe, 28 January 1977. Reproduced with the permission of the Council of Europe. (FAULDS/3/1/1/6)
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Marcelino Oreja (1935-)
Marcelino Oreja joined the Spanish Diplomatic Service in 1958 and was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1976 and held that office until 1980.
In 1982 Oreja was appointed a member of the Spanish delegation to the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, where he sat on the Political Affairs Committee and in 1984 Oreja was elected Secretary General.
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Photograph of Marcelino Oreja, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, 1988. Reproduced with permission of the Council of Europe. (FAULDS/3/1/1/10)
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