Archief Leo Tindemans
Scope and content
The elaborate archive of Leo Tindemans contains the complete period of his political career from the 1950s until 1999. It contains information about his Belgian and European political career. Both are, given Tindemans’ passion for the European integration, strongly intertwined. More or less half of the files from the Tindemans archives directly relate to the development of the Christian democratic identity and the European ideal, the European collaboration between the Christian democrats which led to the establishment of the European People’s Party in 1976, the unofficial European movement, the workings of the European Council and the European Parliament, the appearance of the Christian democratic fraction in the European Parliament and the European integration in general. The archives contain quite some unpublished notes, written reports, speeches, notes and correspondence, together with other unpublished documents and rare documentation and cuttings.
The value of this richly documented archive can hardly be overestimated for the historiography of the European integration; this really is a key archival unit. It contains a lot of background information which sheds light on the evolution of the ideas as well as on the political problems that emerged when taking concrete steps in the European integration. As such, it consists of extensive files concerning the enlargement of the European Community (a.o. with Great Britain), the European Defence Community and the European Security Policy, the various conferences of the European Summit and the European Council where Tindemans was present as Prime Minister, the establishment of the so-called Tindemans Report, the European monetary politics, the first direct elections of the European Parliament, the Belgian chairmanships of the European Council, the Balkans conflict and so on.
The archives represent Tindemans as an ardent advocate of the European ideal, among others through hundreds of lectures and articles. They perfectly portray the European network in which he was active, as well as his many formal and informal contacts at the highest level. They shed light on the European decision making processes, the workings of the European Parliament and its most important commissions, the relations between parties and member states and the relationships with the non-European world (among others with the developing countries). These archives will eventually grow into one of the most important sources for research on the European integration and politics in the period of 1960-2000.
The value of this richly documented archive can hardly be overestimated for the historiography of the European integration; this really is a key archival unit. It contains a lot of background information which sheds light on the evolution of the ideas as well as on the political problems that emerged when taking concrete steps in the European integration. As such, it consists of extensive files concerning the enlargement of the European Community (a.o. with Great Britain), the European Defence Community and the European Security Policy, the various conferences of the European Summit and the European Council where Tindemans was present as Prime Minister, the establishment of the so-called Tindemans Report, the European monetary politics, the first direct elections of the European Parliament, the Belgian chairmanships of the European Council, the Balkans conflict and so on.
The archives represent Tindemans as an ardent advocate of the European ideal, among others through hundreds of lectures and articles. They perfectly portray the European network in which he was active, as well as his many formal and informal contacts at the highest level. They shed light on the European decision making processes, the workings of the European Parliament and its most important commissions, the relations between parties and member states and the relationships with the non-European world (among others with the developing countries). These archives will eventually grow into one of the most important sources for research on the European integration and politics in the period of 1960-2000.
Date(s)
1945-2008
Identifier
2267