law , passed in 1969 , establishing that Italy would unilaterally elect its European Parliament representatives by universal suffrage , but they also made a significant contribution in terms of vision and analysis 1 . The direct election of the European Parliament , from the federalists ’ point of view , was the change that would trigger a constituent process , leading Parliament to claim the democratic powers that , in democratic states , are normally attributed to the parliamentary bodies that represent their citizens . This would trigger an institutional evolution , in the supranational and federal senses . It would also force politicians to mobilise at the European level , to fight for and gain power that would increasingly resemble a form of state power . Moreover , in terms of values and ideals , it represented the first example of an exercise in supranational democracy , calling on the citizens of ( then ) nine integrated but sovereign countries to elect their representatives to a common parliamentary assembly . In the ever-evolving process of European unification , the direct election of Parliament was , therefore , a turning point that forced the European Community to pick up the political threads that had been cast aside after the failure of the European Defence Community and the revival of the European project with the 1957 Treaties of Rome .
The real driving force behind European integration has , in fact , always been political . The revolutionary project from which the European Coal and Steel Community emerged was designed with supranational institutions that anticipated a federal structure and an instrument to create ‘ common foundations for economic development as a first step in the federation of Europe ’ 2 . Without this project , the conditions for progress towards integration would not have existed , even within the common market . The poor performance of the European Free Trade Association , compared to the
1 . Mario Albertini , Il significato politico del disegno di legge . Tutti gli scritti , Vol . V , il Mulino , Bologna , 2008 , pp . 703-713 .
2 . Schuman Declaration , May 1950 .
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