100 Books on Europe to Remember

Welcome

As President of the European Parliament, it is my privilege to welcome you to this dedicated digital platform presenting a selection of the ‘100 Books on Europe to Remember’.

Looking at the path we travelled together as Europeans allows us to understand our common European identity. Europe was after all born in the exchange of ideas between artists, writers and craftsmen. Long before we had the European Union, there was a European space of ideas spanning the continent with literature and art. There is indeed a clear European bond between Caravaggio and Rembrandt, Vivaldi and Bach, Shakespeare and Molière.

The purpose of the collection is precisely to offer to the public an insight into how that European idea came through concretely through European integration. To this end, we are presenting a comprehensive selection of academic,intellectual and political works which have all made a significant contribution to the promotion and the better understanding of this process since 1945.

The selection includes books, articles, pamphlets and speeches we consider significant. It covers the Union’s geographical and linguistic diversity, and a broad spectrum of ideas and personalities in the EU.

The works in this collection belong to the European Parliament's Historical Library which we regard as a common heritage to share with the widest audience.

I believe that you will discover in this selection a passion for Europe, the beginnings of a European dream and you can follow the twists and turns made on the road towards achieving it.

The project: ‘100 Books on Europe to Remember’ began in 2012 at the initiative of my predecessor and has grown to more than one hundred. It currently stands at 125 titles and remains an ongoing project which we will continue to develop.

Every effort has been made to acquire the dissemination rights to freely download the works displayed. Nevertheless, copyright restrictions in some cases have meant that we cannot yet offer all of the works in full text.

A dedicated permanent exhibition situated in the Reading Room of the Historical Library in the European Parliament in Luxembourg is also open to the public.

I trust you will find the collection stimulating and thought-provoking.

Antonio Tajani

President

May 2018