The year 2017 will mark the sixty-year anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. On this occasion, the European project will receive a thorough check-up, and important decisions will be made that will decide whether and in what form it survives.

In this context, it is crucial to recognise the long-overlooked contest between two competing visions of European federalism, propounded by two great figures of Europe’s twentieth century: Altiero Spinelli and Friedrich Hayek.

The recent past tells the story of a revolt against European integration that is taking dangerously big dimensions and demands urgent countermeasures.

Honest pro-Europeans should admit that some sort of Hayekian federalism is the only federalism with some chances of success in our continent.

This briefing was originally published on the European Policy Information Center (EPICENTER) website.