Precisely 85 years ago, Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi wrote what would later become one of the intellectual cornerstones of European integration: the Ventotene manifesto.

While confined under fascism on the small island of Ventotene during the Second World War, they made a radical diagnosis of the underlying causes of Europe’s malaise at the time: fragmentation, division and nationalism were preventing Europe from achieving peace, stability and prosperity.

Today, Europe faces a set of interrelated challenges: growth remains too weak. We are still too dependent on external parties for energy, technology and security. The geopolitical environment has become harsher. And the climate and nature crises are…