Name: Exhibition opening: Pierre Werner – A life dedicated to Luxembourg and Europe
Start: 2026-02-24 11:00:00
End: 2026-02-24 11:30:00
Location: University of Florence

The European Documentation Centre at the University of Luxembourg (EDC-UNILU) together with its partners – the University of Florence, the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) have the pleasure of inviting you to the inauguration of the exhibition:

“Pierre Werner (1913-2002) – A life dedicated to Luxembourg and Europe”

The exhibition will be officially inaugurated by Mr. Pierre Gramegna, Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism.

Exhibition Pierre Werner (1913-2002) – A life dedicated to Luxembourg and Europe

As a long-standing senior civil servant, minister and Prime Minister from the end of the Second World War until the mid-1980s, Pierre Werner gave his country, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a voice that would be heard beyond its borders. He was closely involved in integration and policy-making efforts at the national, regional and European levels. He was an excellent listener and known for his skills of understanding and reconciling apparently incompatible positions. He was committed to defending the vital interests of Luxembourg and Europe over the long term. Pierre Werner is unanimously recognised as one of the main architects of Economic and Monetary Union: the 1970 Werner Report sketched out the fundamental features of what would later become the euro.

Based primarily on Pierre Werner’s private collections, alongside relevant Luxembourgish and European archives, including the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), the exhibition presents a multifaceted portrait of Pierre Werner. It highlights his personality, his role as a father and family man, his social and intellectual interests, and his achievements as a politician and committed European. Through this collaborative initiative, previously undisclosed archival sources relating to the history of Luxembourg and the Economic and Monetary Union are brought to light, making them accessible and compelling to a broader audience, while highlighting their enduring historical significance and contemporary relevance.

The date of 8 October 2025 marked the 55th anniversary of the “Stage-by-Stage Plan for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) within the European Community,” better known as the “Werner Report” or the “Werner Plan”.

Drawn up by a committee of experts chaired by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Luxembourg, Pierre Werner (1913–2002), and officially presented on 8 October 1970 in Luxembourg, this reflection document outlined the main principles, framework, and steps toward an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) based on the principle of irreversibility and an approach rooted in perfect symmetry between its economic and monetary dimensions, with political union as the ultimate objective. It envisaged the creation of a “decision-making centre for economic policy” that would be “politically accountable to a European Parliament” elected by direct universal suffrage, as well as a “Community system for central banks.”

The Werner Report provided the definition of a complete and symmetrical EMU, and many of its recommendations remain on the European agenda to this day.

Based primarily on Pierre Werner’s private collections, alongside relevant Luxembourgish and European archives, including the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), this exhibit, brought to life through Henri Werner’s combined scholarly and artistic work, was developed in partnership with Europe Direct at the University of Luxembourg – a competitive public history project co-funded by the European Union (2021 to 2025) – and the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH).

Photos from the exhibition opening

Dr. Elena Danescu (University of Luxembourg, European Documentation Centre), Mr. Cédric Crelo (Chief Spokesperson, Head of Communications at the ESM), Mr. Pierre Gramegna (Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism), Prof. Mauro Campus (University of Florence, Cesare Alfieri School of Political Science), Prof. Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol (EUI Florence, Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre), Dr. Dieter Schlenker (Historical Archives of the EU, Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre), Mrs. Sylvie Ferrari
Official inauguration of the exhibition by Mr. Pierre Gramegna
Mr. Pierre Gramegna (Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism) with Prof. Mauro Campus (University of Florence, Cesare Alfieri School of Political Science)
Mr. Pierre Gramegna (Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism), Prof. Mauro Campus (University of Florence, Cesare Alfieri School of Political Science)
Dr. Dieter Schlenker (Historical Archives of the EU, Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre), Prof. Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol (EUI Florence, Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre), Mr. Cédric Crelo (Chief Spokesperson, Head of Communications at the ESM)
Dr. Elena Danescu (University of Luxembourg, European Documentation Centre), Mrs. Sylvie Ferrari