Alle origini dell’idea di Parlamento europeo. Il Progetto di William Penn

Abstract

A pochi mesi dalle elezioni europee è interessante ricordare una riflessione poco menzionata nel dibattito
italiano e internazionale: quella a cui si fa risalire la prima idea di un parlamento europeo. Per farlo occorrerà
tornare nell’eccezionale contesto di quella che Grayling ha chiamato “the age of genious”, ovvero il XVII secolo,
e al percorso di una figura geniale ma troppo spesso dimenticata: William Penn.

Parole chiave: Parlamento Europeo, Pace, Sovranità Interna e Sovranità Esterna, Anti-dispotismo

The English quaker William Penn was the first thinker to believe it possible that Europe could equip itself with
institutions of its own and autonomous from those of individual states, of a permanent and not just transitory
nature, which had as their main task that of resolving international disputes and which, in prospect, could also
been dedicated to the civil government of the entire continent. HisAn Essay Towards thePresent and Future
Peace of Europe: By the Establishment of anEuropean Diet,Parliament, Or Estates(1693), can be considered as
the first precursor of what, after three centuries, the European Union has become. The article shows the
historical and intellectual context in which Penn operated. Although the current European Parliament is much
more advanced than Penn could have imagined more than three centuries ago, some of his suggestions are still vital today.

Keywords: European Parliament, Peace, External and Internal Sovereignty, Anti-despotism