Georgian initiator of the European Union

2026-05-09

French statesman Robert Schuman put forward the idea of ​​European integration on May 9, 1950.

Mikheil Muskhelishvili was one of those Georgians who advocated the creation of the European Union and the abolition of borders between European countries. He was far ahead of his time and, fascinated by the idea of ​​a Eurozone or European Union, dedicated many works to European federalism and the federalist movement. It is noteworthy that his last monograph was called "Federal Structures".

On August 6, 1950, in Strasbourg, the day before the opening of the European Conference, 300 students from 8 European countries, led by Michel Muschel, a passionate initiator of the European Union, and three other professors, dismantled the Franco-German border infrastructure and raised the flag of a united Europe. "We have only lit a small bonfire. The big fire must now be lit in Strasbourg, so that the hearts of Europeans can also be ignited," Michel Muschel said at the time...

From 1940 to 1945, Michel Muschel lived in Egypt and lectured at Cairo's Fuad University. From 1948, he was a professor at the Faculty of Law, Political and Economic Sciences at the University of Strasbourg. In 1959, he founded the Research Center for the Soviet Union and Eastern European Countries, which he headed until the end of his life. In 1953–1964, he lectured at universities in the United States as a visiting professor. He was also invited to Germany, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries.

Four important facts from Mikheil Muskhelishvili's work:

- In 1948, together with the French constitutionalist Stéphane Gaston, he created a draft of the European Federal Constitution, the important provisions of which are reflected in the law of the modern European Union. The draft constitution spells out in detail the principles of political and social democracy, which are based on peace and social justice in the unity of the federation and the diversity of the federated states.

- The idea of ​​creating a single European market and establishing the institutions of the European Union.

- The concept of eliminating borders in Europe, which was implemented in the form of the “Schengen Zone,” which effectively eliminated borders in the European Union.

- Modernization of the European Educational Space and harmonization of European educational systems and programs, analogous to the “Bologna Process”.

Michel Muskhel was a well-known lawyer and a member and leader of a number of associations: President of the European Peoples’ Congress, member of the Central Committee of the Federal European Movement, Vice-President of the Bureau of the International Center for the Formation of Europe, founder and Secretary General of the Association of European Universities.

Source: nplg.gov.ge; netgazeti.ge