Haunted by the spectre of war and the gradual but complete marginalisation of Eastern Europe, numerous European statesmen decided that the time had come for them to unite and try to build a better Europe! Robert Schuman, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed an ambitious plan inspired by the ideas of his fellow countryman Jean Monnet. He intended to use this plan to cause a political earthquake which would mark the birth of a European community.
Born in coal and steel
The Schuman Plan adopted a fairly pragmatic approach, starting from the premise that the unification of Europe could not be achieved in a day and that it would be easier to achieve from a platform of initial solidarity based on common economic interests. Five other European countries – Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy – reacted enthusiastically to his proposal and together they decided to start on the road towards economic cooperation.
Thus the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created in 1951 and, with it, the first form of European integration was born. That it was in the coal and steel sector was no surprise, as these were the two key post-war economic sectors.
France and the Federal Republic of Germany were now reunited within a common institutional framework. The Federal Republic of Germany was securely anchored to the western world and the winds of cooperation finally started to blow across Western Europe.
The economic, political and social success of this project led to the idea of extending the concept of sectoral integration to other industrial sectors, in the ultimate aim of applying it to the entire economy.
A Community in full expansion
The Six Founder States thus went even further and, in 1957, they signed the Treaties of Rome establishing two Communities:
- the European Economic Community (EEC)
- the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom)
The signing of the Treaties of Rome marked a fundamental step in the integration of Europe: a united Europe had made an irreversible step along the road to integration.
… but not infallible
Although this was a fruitful period in terms of the progress of communitisation, there were also a number of failures.
In 1952, the Six agreed to set up a European Defence Community (EDC), i.e. to create a common army. This ambitious project ultimately foundered as a result of the reticence of France, which saw this as a direct and unacceptable attack on its sovereignty.
Did you know...that the work which culminated in the signature of the Treaties of Rome by the Six, thereby extending their cooperation to broader sectors of their economies, was carried out under the guidance of Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul-Henry?
Photo : Credit © European Union, 2010