31/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - In a statement published on Friday 31 August to mark the centenary of the birth of European statesman Altiero Spinelli, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said he wished 'to honour the memory of this great and remarkable European for the contribution that he made to the construction of the European Union. Together with other founding fathers such as Alcide de Gasperi, he personified the Italian will for a strong political Europe at the service of its citizens.' Spinelli was born in Rome on 31 August 1907 and died in Rome in 1986. Altiero Spinelli set up the European Federalist Movement in 1943. He was a member of the European Commission, being the Commissioner for Research and Industrial Policy from 1970 and 1976, and also served as a member of the European Parliament. (ab)