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European Coal and Steel Community
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was an experimental six-nation international organisation and the first to be based on supranational principles and served as the foundation for the modern-day European Union.
It was created by the Treaty of Paris (1951), following a proposal from French foreign minister Robert Schuman, and created a common market for coal and steel between its members: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
In 1969 its institutions merged with two new communities, the EEC and Euratom, forming the European Communities. The ECSC continued to exist as part of this, as the Communities became part of the European Union, but the Treaty of Paris expired in 2002. The Community was not replaced but its activities and resources were absorbed by the European Community.
Contents |
- Further information: History of the European Communities (1945-1957)
The Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950, based on the work of Jean Monnet, laid out a plan for a European Community to pool the coal and steel of its members in a common market. He proposed 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." Such an act was intended to help economic growth and cement peace between France and Germany, who had previously been long time enemies. Coal and steel were particular symbolic as they were the resources necessary to wage war. It would also be a first step to a "European federation".[1][2] Upon taking effect it, in stages, replaced the International Authority for the Ruhr.[3]
The 100 article long Treaty of Paris, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, was signed on 18 April 1951 by France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The ECSC was the first international organisation to be based on supranational principles.[1] The ECSC was, through the establishment of a common market for coal and steel, to work towards economic expansion, increase employment and raise the standard of living in the Community. It was to progressively bring about rational distribution of high level production while ensuring stability and employment. The common market was opened on 10 February 1953 for coal, and on 1 May 1953 for steel.[4]
Six years after the Treaty of Paris, the Treaties of Rome were signed by the six ECSC members, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). These Communities were based, with some adjustments, on the ECSC. The Treaties of Rome were to be in force for an unlimited period, unlike the the Treaty of Paris which was to expire after fifty years. These two new communities worked on atomic energy cooperation and the creation of a customs union, however their fields rapidly expanded with the EEC becoming the most important tool for political unification, overshadowing the ECSC.[1]
Despite being separate communities with separate legal personalities, three Communities initially shared the Common Assembly and the European Court of Justice. The other institutions were separate: the Councils and the High Authority/Commissions. Due to a desire to avoid duplication, the Merger Treaty merged the ECSC and Euratom with the EEC. The EEC later became the present day European Union[1]
The Treaty of Paris was amended on several occasions as the EC and EU evolved and grew. With the treaty due to expire in 2002, debate began at the beginning of the 1990s on what to do with it. It was eventually decided that it should be left to expire, rather than renew or replace it. Hence, the areas covered by the ECSC's treaty were transferred to the Treaty of Rome. The financial loose ends and the ECSC research fund were dealt with through a protocol of the Treaty of Nice. The treaty finally expired on 23 July 2002.[2] The Flag of the ECSC was lowered for the final time outside the European Commission in Brussels on the day the treaty expired and replaced with the EU flag.[5]
| 1951/1952 | 1957/1958 | 1965/1967 | 1992/1993 | 1997/1999 | 2001/2003 | 2007/2009 ? |
| European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) | ||||||
| Euratom (European Atomic Energy Community) | ||||||
| European Economic Community (EEC) |
European Community (EC) | |||||
| ...European Communities: ECSC, EEC (EC, 1993), Euratom | Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) |
|||||
| Police & Judicial Co-operation in Criminal matters (PJCC) |
||||||
| Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) | ||||||
| E U R O P E A N U N I O N ( E U ) | ||||||
| Treaty of Paris | Treaty of Rome | Treaty of Brussels | Treaty of Maastricht | Treaty of Amsterdam | Treaty of Nice | Treaty of Lisbon |
|
"THREE PILLARS" - ECs (ECSC, EEC/EC, Euratom), CFSP, PJCC |
||||||
- Further information: Institutions of the European Union
The institutions of the ECSC were the High Authority, the Common Assembly, the Special Council of Ministers and the Court of Justice. A subsidiary Consultative Committee was established along side the High Authority. These were merged in 1967 with those of the European Community, which then governed the ECSC.[4]
The institutions were located in the City of Luxembourg as a provisional seat. The Treaty stated that the seat would be decided by common accord of members yet the issue was hotly contested resulting in a temporary compromise of Luxembourg. However the Assembly was based in Strasbourg.[6]
The High Authority (the predecessor to the European Commission) was a nine-member executive body which governed the community. France, Germany and Italy appointed two members to the Authority and the three smaller members appointed one. These eight members then themselves appointed a ninth person to be President.[4]
Despite being appointed by national governments, the members were not supposed to represent their national interest, but rather took a oath to defend the general interests of the Community as a whole. Their independence was aided by members being barred from having any occupation outside the Authority or having any business interests.[4]
The Authority's principle innovation was its supranational character. It had a broad area of competence to ensure the objectives of the treaty were met and that the common market functioned smoothly. The High Authority could issue three types of legal instruments: Decisions, which were entirely binding laws, Recommendations, which had binding aims but the methods were left to member states, and Opinions, which had no legal force.[4]
Up to the merger in 1967, the authority had five presidents followed by an interim President;[7]
| President | State | Took office | Left office | Authority |
| Jean Monnet | France | 10 August 1952 | 3 June 1955 | Monnet Authority |
| René Mayer | France | 3 June 1955 | 13 January 1958 | Mayer Authority |
| Paul Finet | Belgium | 13 January 1958 | 15 September 1959 | Finet Authority |
| Piero Malvestiti | Italy | 15 September 1959 | 22 October 1963 | Malvestiti Authority |
| Rinaldo Del Bo | Italy | 22 October 1963 | 6 July 1967 | Del Bo Authority |
| Albert Coppé | Belgium | interim | Coppé Authority | |
The Common Assembly, what is now the European Parliament, was composed of 78 representatives. The Assembly exercised supervisory powers over the executive. The representatives were to be national MPs elected by their Parliaments to the Assembly, or directly elected. Though in practice it was the former as there was no requirement until the Treaties of Rome and no election until 1979. However to emphasises that the chamber was not to be that of a traditional international organisation, whereby it would be composed of representatives of national governments, the Treaty of Paris used the term "representatives of the peoples'"".[4]
The Special Council of Ministers, equivalent to the current Council of the European Union, was composed of representatives of national governments. The Presidency was held by each state for a period of three months, rotating between them in alphabetical order. One of its key aspects was to harmonise the work of the High Authority and that of national governments, which were still responsible for the state's general economic policies. The Council was also required to issue opinions on certain areas of work of the High Authority.[4]
The Court of Justice was to ensure the observation of ECSC law along with the interpretation and application of the Treaty. The Court was composed of seven judges, appointed by common accord of the national governments for six years. There were no requirements that the judges had to be of a certain nationality, simply that they be qualified and that their independence be beyond doubt. The Court was assisted by two Advocates General.[4]
The Consultative Committee (what is now the Economic and Social Committee) had between 30 and 50 members, equally divided between producers, workers, consumers and dealers in the coal and steel sector. Members were appointed for two years and were not bound by any mandate or instruction of the organisations which appointed them. The Committee had a plenary assembly, bureau and a president. The High Authority was obliged to consult the committee in certain cases where it was appropriate and to keep it informed.[4]
The Community had little effect on coal and steel production, which respectively decreased and increased relative to the world trends, but trade between members did increase, tenfold for coal. Particularly where there were cutbacks in one state, it saved members money by not having to import resources from the United States. The High Authority also issues 280 modernisation loans to the industry which helped the industry to improve output and reduce costs. Costs were also saved by the abolition of tariffs at borders.[8]
However it is seen that the ECSC's greatest achievements were not on economic issues, but welfare issues. Over 15 years it financed 112,500 flats for workers, paying 1770 USD per flat, enabling workers to buy a home they would otherwise not be able to. The ECSC also paid half the occupational redeployment costs of those workers who have lost their jobs as coal and steel facilities began to close down. Combined with regional redevelopment aid the ECSC spent 150 million USD creating 100,000 jobs, a third of which were for unemployed coal and steel workers. The welfare guarantees invented by the ECSC were adopted by some of its members to be extended to workers outside the coal and steel sector.[8]
However the ECSC failed to achieve several fundamental aims of the Treaty of Paris. It was hoped the ECSC would prevent a resurgence of large coal and steel groups, such as the "Konzerne" which helped Adolf Hitler rise to power. Rather the cartels and major companies re-emerged, also leading to price fixing, another element that was meant to be tackled. It also failed to defined a proper energy policy and to ensure there was an upward equalisation of pay of workers within the market. These failures could be down to over ambition in a short period of time, or that the goals were merely political posturing to be ignored.[8]
| This article is part of the series: History of the European Union |
|
| History of Europe | |
| Pre-1945 thought | |
| 1945–1957 | |
| 1958–1972 | |
| 1973–1993 | |
| 1993–1999 | |
| 1999–2004 | |
| 2004–present | |
| Timeline · Topics · Portal | |
| See also: | Enlargement & Treaties |
- Schuman Declaration
- Energy policy of the European Union
- Energy Community
- The industrial plans for Germany
- ^ a b c d The European Communities. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ a b Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC Treaty. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ Office of the US High Commissioner for Germany Office of Public Affairs, Public Relations Division, APO 757, US Army, January 1952 "Plans for terminating international authority for the Ruhr" , pp. 61-62
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Treaties establishing the European Communities. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ Ceremony to mark the expiry of the ECSC Treaty (Brussels, 23 July 2002). European NAvigator (2002-07-23). Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ The seats of the institutions of the European Union. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
- ^ Members of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- ^ a b c Mathieu, Gilbert (1970-05-09). The history of the ECSC: good times and bad. Le Monde, accessed on European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
- Grin, Gilles (2003). The Battle of the Single European Market: Achievements and Economic Thought, 1945-2000. Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0710309389.
- Hitchcock, William I. (1998). France Restored: Cold War Diplomacy and the Quest for Leadership in Europe, 1944-1954. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4747-X.
- Maas, Willem (2007). Creating European Citizens. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-5485-6.
- [rtsp://rtsppress.cec.eu.int/Archive/video/mpeg/i000679/i000679.rm Common Destiny], a period film explaining the Coal and Steel Community, Europa (web portal)
- Treaty constituting the European Coal and Steel Community, European NAvigator
- The institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community, European NAvigator
- France, Germany and the Struggle for the War-making Natural Resources of the Rhineland, American University
- Pas de Pagaille!, Time Magazine article from Jul. 28, 1947.
- Ruhr Delegation of the United States of America, Council of Foreign Ministers American Embassy Moscow, March 24, 1947, Truman Library
