The Schuman Declaration, or Schuman Plan, was a proposal to place French and West German production of coal and steel under a single authority that later became the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxemb ...

, made by the French foreign minister,

Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat ( Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a re ...

, on the 9th of May 1950 (now celebrated in the EU as

Europe Day Europe Day is a day celebrating "peace and unity in Europe" celebrated on 5 May by the Council of Europe and on 9 May by the European Union. The first recognition of Europe Day was by the Council of Europe, introduced in 1964. The European ...

), the day after the fifth anniversary of the end of World War II. The alliance would later be opened to other European countries. The ultimate goal was to pacify relations, especially between France and West Germany, through gradual political integration to be achieved by creating common interests. Schuman said that " e coming together of the countries of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany ... the solidarity in production thus established will make it plain that any war between France and Germany becomes not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible."

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

, the first

Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the G ...

, responded positively to the Declaration, as did the governments of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. On 18 April 1951, the six founding members signed the Treaty of Paris. It created the

– Europe's first supranational community, which paved the way for the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

and subsequently the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

Background

Following World War II, the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

split Europe between two spheres of influence on either side of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

. With the desire not to repeat the destruction seen in the First and

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

World Wars, there was an inclination towards European co-operation. For example,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, called for the formation of a "

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

". The United States supported greater European cooperation, and when

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

aid was announced the only condition imposed was that the aid be used by the European countries in a coordinated fashion. The Monnet Plan, France's plan to spur investment and modernize the French economy after World War II, created an impetus for the Schuman Plan. Prewar, France had been the world's biggest importer of coal, and the Monnet Plan anticipated coal imports from Germany. In Germany, there were concerns that France aimed to import coal from Germany "as cheaply as possible" to promote French steel production. DER SCHUMANPLAN: DIE NEUE RUHRBEHÖRDE
Professor Dr. Hans Ritschl Der Spiegel 1951 In France, the concern (which dated to the prewar period) was that coal would be available on more favourable terms to the German market and so provide an advantage to German industry. Schuman aimed to prevent coal and steel firms from acting as cartels which could restrict supply by national market. The Schuman Plan would mean the pooling of markets and the expansion of production. This was viewed as a force for peace in Europe, since the single market would make a war between France and Germany "materially impossible." Schuman promoted initiatives to unite Europe while he was the Prime Minister of France (1947–48) and foreign minister from 1948–52. He spoke about the principles of sharing European resources in a supranational union at the signing of the Statute of the Council of Europe in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 5 May 1949.

Aims and drafting

In drafting the Schuman Declaration,

Jean Monnet Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, administrator, and political visionary. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the ...

had input from

Paul Reuter Paul Julius Reuter (born Israel Beer Josaphat; 21 July 1816 – 25 February 1899), later ennobled as Freiherr von Reuter (Baron von Reuter), was a German-born British entrepreneur who was a pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting.Etienne Hirsch. (The draft documents of the Declaration were published by the Jean Monnet Foundation.) The Schuman proposal was agreed on after the French cabinet discussion on 9 May 1950. Earlier in the day, Schuman had been assured that it had the support of German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. The Schuman Declaration says "The coming together of the nations of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany." The French government "proposes that Franco-German production of coal and steel as a whole be placed under a common High Authority, within the framework of an organization open to the participation of other countries of Europe." The pooling of coal and steel production should allow for a common foundation for economic development and "will make it plain that any war between France and Germany becomes not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible." Importantly, by pooling basic production and by instituting the new High Authority — whose decisions bind France, Germany and other member countries — "this proposal will lead to the realization of the first concrete foundation of a European federation indispensable to the preservation of peace." The Declaration had several aims: * the birth of Europe as a political entity * to make war between member states impossible * to encourage world peace * to form an anti-

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

agency in the coal and steel industries of member countries * to revitalize the European economy as a whole starting with the coal and steel sectors * to offer production in coal and steel to the world without distinction or exception, with the aim of raising living standards and promoting international development, including in Africa. Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Paris August 2008

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Paris August 2008

Legacy

The Schuman Declaration marked the beginning of post-World War II Franco-German cooperation and the re-integration of West Germany into Western Europe.

, Chancellor of West Germany, said " at's our breakthrough" in regards to the Declaration. The legacy of this initiative was the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 18 April 1951 by six European countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). The Treaty established the

(ECSC), the first of three European Communities, and a predecessor of the

. The ECSC introduced a common market for steel and coal across the member countries, with freely set market prices, free movement of products, and without customs duties or taxes, subsidies, or restrictive practices. It set up a High Authority to monitor compliance with competition rules and ensure price transparency. Schuman was a proponent of further European integration through an (ultimately unratified) European defence community. In 1958 he became the first President of the predecessor to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

. When he left office, the Parliament bestowed on him the title "Father of Europe". May 9 has been designated "

" to celebrate peace and unity in Europe because of the significance of the Schuman Declaration on 9 May 1950.

Notes

Bibliography

* Diebold, William. ''The Schuman plan: a study in economic cooperation, 1950–1959'' (Praeger, 1959). * Hitchcock, William I. "France, the Western Alliance, and the Origins of the Schuman Plan, 1948–1950" ''Diplomatic History'' (1997) 21#4: 603–630. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7709.00090 * Kaiser, Wolfram. ''Christian democracy and the origins of European Union'' (Cambridge UP, 2007). * Lovett, A. W. "The United States and the Schuman Plan. a study in French diplomacy 1950–1952." ''Historical Journal'' 39#2 (1996): 425–455. * McDougall, Walter. "Political Economy versus National Sovereignty: French Structures for German Economic Integration after Versailles." ''The Journal of Modern History'' 51#1 (1979): 4–23. * Mahant, Edelgard Elsbeth. ''Birthmarks of Europe: the origins of the European Community reconsidered'' (Gower Publishing, 2004). * Scheingold, Stuart A. ''The rule of law in European integration: The path of the Schuman Plan'' (Quid Pro Books, 2013). * Shore, Cris. "Inventing the 'People's Europe': Critical Approaches to European Community 'Cultural Policy.'" ''Man'' 28, no. 4. (Dec., 1993): 779–800. * Shore, Cris and Annabel Black. "The European Communities and the Construction of Europe." ''Anthropology Today'' 8, no. 3. (Jun., 1992): 10–11. * Schuman, Robert. ''Pour l'Europe'' (Paris 1963). * Vernon, Raymond. "The Schuman Plan: Sovereign Powers of the European Coal and Steel Community." ''American Journal of International Law'' 47.2 (1953): 183–202
in JSTOR

External links