Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman
The failure of the Congress of The Hague seemed to end any hope about creating an integrated Europe. But a new Europe was on its way when the Western allies, as a reaction against the rising of the “Iron curtain,” enabled Germany to create in 1949 an independent State, the German Federal Republic, followed 5 months later by the creation of the German Democratic Republic. Without Germany any initiative towards European integration was unthinkable.
On top of
that European politicians did not pay any attention to a singular personality:
Jean Monnet (1888-1979) who was essentially a pragmatic business man that had
an essential role in World politics since World War 1, not only in Europe but
the US, as part of the Think Tank of President F. D. Roosevelt. He was essential for the launching of the Marshall Plan under the Truman Administration.
Monnet was fully aware
that nationalism of the European States made impossible to consider a united supranational
Europe. But considering the success of the Marshall Plan, that for economic
reasons worked at the supranational level, as it was a collective deal were
European States accepted to submit for the purposes or reconstruction to a
joint action, he thought that if remaining in the economic field an
integration could be tried.
He was lucky
to be a good friend of an important French politician, Robert Schuman, and that
West Germany had as head of Government a lucid politician, Konrad Adenauer, that was more than willing to have Germany accepted as an equal by the other
European Western States, in order to avoid the disaster of the 1919 "Versailles Diktat".
Monnet and Schuman agreed to launch a very modest first step towards European integration, as it was apparently limited to the joint production of Coal and Steel. But if you read carefully the brief Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950, you will easily discover that the initiative had far more reaching consequences for the six initial member states.
The Treaty of
Paris founding the European Coal and Steel Community was not a constitution. It
was a contract, an agreement creating a six member European Community. Each of the signing
states had their own constitution, legal system and full independence and sovereignty, with a tiny exception: they lost control on the production of coal, iron and steel
that depended on a High Authority that imposed its decisions over the member states. .
As the
Communitarian way had worked, the founding members of the ECSC went for another try. In
the beginning of the cold war, with the mighty Stalin Army on its borders,
despite of the creation of NATO it made sense to create a European Defense
Community. But this was going too far too fast. Today, 71 one years after the
creation of the first European Community, the Member States of the EU still do
not accept to have an European Army. Despite the fact that every state could
not face, for instance, in an open war the US, Russian or Chinese army.
Jean Monet
understood that the only possible way of getting together was through economy, and this why at the
Messina Conference (June 1955) he came along with the old idea of a Customs
Union like the Prussian Zollverein. The result was the
European Economic Community created with the European Atomic Energy Community
in Rome in March 1957.
The EEC was a success as proved the fact that
the UK tried to counteract it through the creation of the EFTA in 1969. And
shortly afterwards the British asked to join the EEC, though they did not count with the fierce opposition of Charles De Gaulle.
European
integration was on its way but it had to slow down because De Gaulle got into
power in France. From 1958 to 1969 French nationalism was too strong and could
not accept a strong integration as proved the Empty Chair policy (France did
not attend the European Summits) and the Luxembourg Compromise and the veto to
the entry of the UK in the EEC.
INSTRUCTIONS:
First read the text included in your Materials (pages 260 to 267 FOR Teaching Guide
10 and 273 to 285 for Teaching Guide 11), before proceeding to answer the
Concrete Questions, the Concepts and the General Questions.
Concerning the
Basic Chronology (pages 268-269 for TG 10 and 286-288 for TG 11) you should get
familiar with the following dates:
1949,
7 October: Creation of the German
Democratic Republic.
1950, 9 May: Schuman Declaration
1951: ECSC (Treaty of Paris). Europe of 6.
1952-1954: Failure of the EDC
1955, June: Messina Conference.
1957, 25 March : Treaties of Rome (EEC and EAEC)
1960 : EFTA
1965: Executive Merger Treaty.
1966: Luxembourg Compromise
1973, January 1st: First Enlargement of Communitarian Europe
(UK, Ireland and Denmark). Europe of 9.
1975: Creation of the ERDF (Europe of Regions)
1979: First elections to the European Parliament.
1981. Second Enlargement: Greece joins Communitarian Europe. Europe of
10.
1985: Schengen Agreement
1986, January 1st: Third Enlargement: Spain and Portugal join
an Europe of 12.
1987, 1st July : Single European Act enters into force
amending the EEC.
TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION IN CLASS: Should Communitarian
Europe remain essentially economic?
Please
consider the following aspects:
1. Review what was the Monnet and
Schuman approach in the Schuman Declaration. What was the spirit of it?
2. Take into consideration the failure
of the European Defense Community, proposed initially by France and rejected by
the same country.
3. Consider the De Gaulle’s reaction
that led to the Luxembourg Compromise
4. Which was the political aim of the
European Regional Development Fund?
5. Why was necessary the Single European
Act?
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