What did the European Coal and Steel Community do?
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The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Defence Community (EDC) Treaties
Part of the Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics book series (PSEUP) The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) marks a milestone in international cooperation as it represents the first supranational treaty organisation in history: The national governments of France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries decided to delegate domestic decisionmaking authority in the coal and steel sectors to a new supranational organisation, the High Authority (Thiemeyer, 1998, p. 6). The plan to pool coal and steel resources and create a High Authority was presented to the public by the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, on 9 May 1950. Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, the ‘mastermind’ behind the Schuman Plan, referred to the plan as a ‘bold, constructive act’ and François Duchêne, author of a much-celebrated Monnet biography, referred to the contents of the plan as a ‘break with the past’ in the light of its novel supranational quality (Duchêne, 1994, p. 205). One central objective of the plan was to alleviate French concerns that post-war Germany would employ its regained industrial strength as a threat to French autonomy, both in economic and security terms. These concerns arose in particular against the backdrop of imminent German economic recovery and the prospect that Germany would be ‘freed’ from allied oversight. In June 1950, the intergovernmental negotiations among the ‘Six’ to implement the Schuman Plan were launched. The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community was signed in April 1951 and, after successful ratification in France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries, it entered into force on 24 July 1952. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution. Buying optionsChapter EUR 29.95 Price includes VAT (Singapore)
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Copyright information© 2012 Iris Glockner and Berthold Rittberger About this chapterCite this chapterGlockner, I., Rittberger, B. (2012). The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Defence Community (EDC) Treaties. In: Laursen, F. (eds) Designing the European Union. Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230367579_2 What did the European Coal and Steel Community become?The ECSC was an international organization based on the principle of supranationalism, and started a process of integration which ultimately led to the creation of the European Union.
What did the ECSC achieve?WHAT WAS THE AIM OF THE TREATY? It set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) which brought together 6 countries (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) to organise the free movement of coal and steel and to free up access to sources of production.
Why was the European Coal and Steel Community created?The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was born from the desire to prevent future European conflicts following the devastation of World War II.
Was the European Coal and Steel Community successful?Economically, the Coal and Steel Community achieved early success; between 1952 and 1960 iron and steel production rose by 75% in the ECSC nations, and industrial production rose by 58%.
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