Righteous for Europe

It was 1941 when a group of anti-fascists, exiled by Mussolini’s regime, wrote the Ventotene Manifesto for a free and united Europe. A revolutionary document, it laid the political and ideological foundations for the future union of European states. Drafted during the darkest period of the Second World War, the Manifesto was based on the belief that only the creation of a supranational federation of European countries could prevent new conflicts from erupting across the continent.

This warning was heeded by statesmen and thinkers who—starting with the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1950—promoted increasingly deeper cooperation among European states, based on respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, and equality.

European integration is the result of the courageous efforts of Righteous men and women who, often at the risk of their lives and freedom, envisioned and fought for a united and democratic Europe—one in which the rule of law is upheld and human rights are protected.

This remains an ongoing process, now confronted with the challenges and dangers of enlargement to the Balkans and the Caucasus—regions where a strong pro-European sentiment within civil society is countered by the interference of authoritarian regimes seeking a fragmented and weakened European Union. It is precisely in these sensitive contexts that the Righteous for Europe continue to act today.