224 European Unification
37.1: European Unification
37.1.1: The European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was born from the desire to prevent future European conflicts following the devastation of World War II.
Learning Objective
Connect the establishment of the ECSC to WWII.
Key Points
- The European Coal and Steel Community was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
- The ECSC was first proposed by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950, to prevent further war between France and Germany.
- The declared aim of the ECSC was to make future wars among the European nations unthinkable due to higher levels of regional integration, with the ECSC as the first step towards that integration.
- The ECSC enjoyed substantial public support, gaining strong majority votes in all 11 chambers of the parliaments of the six member states as well as approval among associations and European public opinion.
- The first institutions of the ECSC would ultimately form the blueprint for today’s European Commission, European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Court of Justice.
Key Term
- supranationalism
- A type of multinational political union where negotiated power is delegated to an authority by governments of member states.
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was an international organization unifying certain continental European countries after World War II. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The ECSC was the first international organization based on the principles of supranationalism, and would ultimately pave the way for the European Union.
History
The ECSC was first proposed by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950, to prevent further war between France and Germany. His declared aim was to make future wars among the European nations unthinkable due to higher levels of regional integration, with the ECSC as the first step towards that integration. The treaty would create a common market for coal and steel among its member states, which served to neutralize competition between European nations over natural resources used for wartime mobilization, particularly in the Ruhr. The Schuman Declaration that created the ECSC had several distinct aims:
It would mark the birth of a united Europe.
It would make war between member states impossible.
It would encourage world peace.
It would transform Europe incrementally, leading to the democratic unification of two political blocks separated by the Iron Curtain.
It would create the world’s first supranational institution.
It would create the world’s first international anti-cartel agency.
It would create a common market across the Community.
It would, starting with the coal and steel sector, revitalize the entire European ec