Introduction. From Europe of Regions to Small Homelands

Abstract

Altiero Spinelli’s project envisioned a Europe that was, on the one hand, a federal
union of states and, on the other hand, an entity characterized by strong internal
decentralization within the individual member states. This entailed accentuated pluralism
within the states. Federal unity would be balanced by institutional pluralism of the regions,
influenced by the recent past and the need to achieve a distribution of powers on a territorial
basis. The objective was to create a Europe consisting of both federated states and regions,
and local communities, capable of combining the centripetal, unifying force with the
centrifugal force that enhances territorial autonomies. The question of the power to be
attributed to the regions would need to be resolved: whether it should be political-legislative
or solely administrative. Today, these issues are highly topical, especially in the discussions on
the political strengthening of the EU, which necessitates a federal structure – a form of state
in which both European citizens and territories are represented