Walter Hallstein and European Legal Integration

This article tries to reconstruct the figure of Walter Hallstein, as an emblematic representative (practical and theoretical) of the fundamental directions taken, over the decades, by the development of European integration. Thus, we attempt to analyze some essential elements of his theoretical-legal conception, to emphasize the critical links with the ideological dimension of the Union’s structure. First, we provide a brief comparison with other theorists of European integration. Second, we trace, specifically, some fundamental thematic elements that emerge from internal reflection on Hallstein’s writings. Third, we highlight the similarities with the theoretical positions of that complex of doctrines attributable to the so-called German ‘ordoliberalism’. Considering these analytical passages, we try to argue the profound connection of Hallstein’s perspective with some founding paradigms of the architectural structure of the EU, which see the centrality of law as one of their key elements. The perspective of the German politician and jurist sees the legal dimension as the indefectible requirement for a solid and structured European integration (even if this does not exclude the importance of politics and economics). The centrality of law is what reveals the relevance of Hallstein’s positions to understand, on a genealogical level, and from a philosophical-political profile, a good part of the historical and institutional developments of the EU.