[1945-1951] Towards a European community: The Schuman Declaration and the birth of the ECSC

"A united Europe was not achieved and we had war." Robert Schuman. 

Traditionally, the historians consider 1950 as the year of the beginning of the European integration. The 9^th May was even chosen to celebrate Europe. Indeed, it is the key date in the history of europeanism: on that day, in the Salon de l'Horloge at the Quai d'Orsay, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman announced the creation of the first supranational European organisation, pooling the economic interests of France and Germany. His short declaration went down to history:

Robert Schuman (1886-1963).

Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity. The coming together of the nations of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany. Any action taken must in the first place concern these two countries. […] [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 organisation open to the participation of the other countries of Europe. The pooling of coal and steel production should immediately provide for the setting up of common foundations for economic development as a first step in the federation of Europe […]¹.

Jean Monnet (1888-1979).

This short and sharp declaration caused a stir in France and abroad. Naturally, if it surprised the public opinions, it was precisely scheduled behind the scenes. Contrary to the legend, Robert Schuman was not the author of the project. Retiring and unambitious, he was but a figurehead; the true author of the declaration was Jean Monnet², who was since 1946 Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board³. Jean Monnet had a long and rich carrier: in 1919, he was one of the initiators of the League of Nations and rapidly held an important position within the international organisation. Later, he became a business man and a financier, working both in France and in the United States. He even was in the mid 1930's the councillor of the Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. Jean Monnet was a europeanist for a long time. He always hated the nationalisms and considered itself as an internationalist. When the war broke out, it was him who inspired the Anglo-French political union, submitted to Churchill and to de Gaulle in June 1940. And throughout the conflict, he never stop advocating the European union.

Dean Acheson (1893-1971).

Monnet was therefore a man with international stature at the end of the 1940's. Moreover, since the early 1940's he was in contact with the American authorities and worked very closely with the CIA⁴. After taking part in the elaboration of the Marshall Plan and of the OOEC, he met in September 1949 the US Secretary of State Dean Acheson in the White House. The latter made him responsible for the launch of the European economic integration, in the preparation for a federation. Monnet obeyed and wrote the declaration which was intended to be read by Schuman a few months later. All was finely calculated.

Nowadays, it is well established that the USA was at the origin of the European integration. We know since the early 2000's, with the declassification of confidential documents of the US Department of State, that Washington financed some europeanist movements through the intermediary of the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations: it was the case of the European International Movement, to cite one but an exemple. As well, the American Committee on United Europe, founded in 1948 by the intelligence officer William Donovan, was very active in the propagation of the European idea⁵. It is evident that without the help of America, the European community would not have seen the light of the day.

Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman.

What was the consequence of the "Schuman Declaration"? After the 9 May, things happened very quickly. In June, a conference was held in Paris, getting together France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Monnet managed to impose the principle of a supranational authority: a new type of organisations was thus created, the European Steel and Coal Community, the treaty of which was signed the 18 April 1951. Four structures composed this organisation: the High Authority, independent from the national governments; the Common Assembly, place of parliamentarian debates; the Special Council, composed of ministers; and a Court of Justice. The ECSC remained an intergovernmental community, but in the mind of its founders, its purpose was clearly federalist. According to them, especially Jean Monnet, the economic integration was an indispensable precondition before the creation of the European political federation: it is the famous "Monnet method", which was officially adopted during the Hague Congress.

In many ways, the ECSC reminds the projects of industrial cooperation which were discussed in the inter-war period⁶. This idea was then taken up during the conflict in some think tanks and, manifestly, influenced Monnet. At the end of the decade 1940, the Council of Europe fostered this initiative, as well as the Americans, who were not ready for the set up of a federation. In short, the idea was in the mood of time.

The ECSC was a success. It enabled a strong economic growth and really brought closer France and Germany. But in this organisation, Europe was not independent. Being under the influence of the USA, it could not establish itself as a a great power. Nonetheless, several nations of the continent was finally united: it was the beginning of a long process, which led to the common market and, much later, to the European union.

 

1To read the Schuman Declaration: http://europa.eu/about-eu/basic-information/symbols/europe-day/schuman-declaration/index_en.htm

2See the article «Robert Schuman: père de l'Europe ou saint en veston ?», review of the book of François Roth, Robert Schuman. Du Lorrain des frontières au père de l'Europe, Paris, Fayard, 2008: http://www.europaforum.public.lu/fr/temoignages-reportages/2008/10/roth-schuman/index.html

3The "Commissariat Général au Plan" was an insitution responsible for planning the economic reconstruction of France.

4See Rémi Kauffer, «Quand la CIA finançait la construction européenne», Historia, nº 675, 1^er mars 2003: http://www.upr.fr/wp-content/uploads/kalins-pdf/singles/la-cia-finance-la-construction-europeenne.pdf

5Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, «Euro-federalists financed by US spy Chief», The Daily Telegraph, 19 September 2000. 
6The French-German Committee founded by Mayrisch and Viénot, about which we talked, was one of them.