1946: The Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement

During peace negotiations in the spring of 1946, the victorious Allied powers clearly signalled that there would be no change to the Brenner Pass. This also meant: South Tyrol would remain in Italy. The Allies pushed Austria and Italy to an agreement that would secure the future – that is, autonomous control – of the German-speaking minority on Italy’s northernmost border. Thereafter, the foreign ministers of both countries, Karl Gruber and Alcide De Gasperi, signed an agreement in Paris on the eve of the peace negotiations for Italy on September 5, 1946.

Named after both authors and also called the Paris Treaty, the text was included as an appendix in the Italian peace treaty. The Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement is the only legally binding treaty under international law that South Tyroleans could use during the difficult negotiations for autonomy that were to take place in subsequent decades. However, the implementation of the agreement was drawn-out or rather, it failed. The First Statute of Autonomy of 1948, based on the Gruber-De Gasperi Agreement, proved to be but a “sham autonomy” which could hardly guarantee the rights of the German-speaking minority.