1. The beginning of the Cold War (1948)
The failure of the Congress of The Hague (7-11 May 1948) seemed to end any hope about creating an integrated Europe. But the situation was unsustainable for European States because Stalin, as a reaction against the Marshall Plan broke with the Western allies of the USSR and rose the “Iron Curtain”, an expression of Churchill meaning that all Eastern Europe was under the occupation of the Red Army. The only exception was West Berlin occupied by American, British and French troops, though it was surrounded by territory under Soviet control. No wonder then that the Cold War started when Stalin ordered its troops to isolate West Berlin (Berlin Blockade) West Berliners did no surrender because from June 1948 to May 1949 the Western Allies supplied the besieged city by air (Berlin Airlift). American and British pilots conducted during this period more than 250.000 flights dropping food, medicines, fuel and anything West Berlin population needed. They started delivering 3,475 tons of supplies daily, but by the end of the blockade, the spring of 1949,the figure had risen to 12,941 tons.
As you can imagine, after breaking with Stalin, the Governments of the European Western States were afraid that the powerful Red Army that already occupied Eastern Europe could move further West. So they needed to do something to prevent a Russian invasion. In fact they did two things. At the continental level they created a Western German State to ensure a defensive frontier against the Red wave. At the World level they requested the aid of the US through a defensive alliance.
2. The creation of two brand new German States (May and October 1949)
The first defensive measure against Soviet imperialism was the creation of a new German State in occupied Germany. Just after the War, in the Spring of 1945, the intention of the Alies was to occupy with troops Germany permanently. Nevertheless after breaking with Stalin they considered that the best defense was to create a brand new German State: the German Federal Republic created the 23 May 1949, just at the end of the Berlin Blockade. Stalin decided to retaliate and responded 5 months later imposing the creation of the German Democratic Republic (7 October 1949).
As a result of this Germany became the symbol of the Cold War, especially after the East German authorities started building the Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) on the 13 of August 1961. The Iron Curtain ceased to be only a metaphor. The Berlin Wall would not be torn down until 9 November 1989. Almost three decades of isolation for the West Berliners.
The Germans had nothing to say as they had lost their sovereignty as a consequence of their defeat. They will only retrieve it thanks to the "Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (Vertrag über die abschließende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland) also known as the Two Plus Four Agreement (Zwei-plus-Vier-Vertrag) because it dealt with the reunification of the TWO Germanies, and was accepted by the FOUR powers that had occupied German territory in May 1945. Signed on 12 September 1990, it was effective since the 15 March 1991. Germany had lacked of sovereignty for 46 years.
3. The appearance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The other step required by Western Europeans for protecting themselves from Stalin was the creation of military Alliance of Western European States and Canada and The US. At the demand of Europeans Governments who considered they could not defend themselves alone in case of an attack from the Red Army, US and Canada agreed to constitute NATO in 4 April 1949;, a month before the creation of the West German State. In fact the creation of this Alliance had also further purposes: to prevent war among the European States favoring European integration. Fortunately, by then the United States had turned its back on its traditional policy of diplomatic isolationism.
It is often said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. This is only partially true. In fact, the Alliance’s creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes: 1) deterring Soviet expansionism, 2) forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and 3) encouraging European political integration.
The aftermath of World War II saw much of Europe devastated in a way that is now difficult to envision. Approximately 36.5 million Europeans had died in the conflict, 19 million of them civilians. Refugee camps and rationing dominated daily life. In some areas, infant mortality rates were one in four. Millions of orphans wandered the burnt-out shells of former metropolises. In the German city of Hamburg alone, half a million people were homeless.
In addition, Communists aided by the Soviet Union were threatening elected governments across Europe. In February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with covert backing from the Soviet Union, overthrew the democratically elected government in that country. Then, in reaction to the democratic consolidation of West Germany, the Soviets blockaded Allied-controlled West Berlin in a bid to consolidate their hold on the German capital. The heroism of the Berlin Airlift provided future Allies with some solace, but privation remained a grave threat to freedom and stability.
Creation of NATO, April 4, 1949
... after much discussion and debate, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April, 1949. In the Treaty’s renowned Article 5, the new Allies agreed “an armed attack against one or more of them… shall be considered an attack against them all” and that following such an attack, each Ally would take “such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force” in response.
President Truman signing the NATO Agreement
While the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty had created Allies, it had not created a military structure that could effectively coordinate their actions. This changed when growing worries about Soviet intentions culminated in the Soviet detonation of an atomic bomb in 1949 and in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. The effect upon the Alliance was dramatic. NATO soon gained a consolidated command structure with a military Headquarters … (Text extracted from the NATO web page) Reference: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_139339.htm [Last retrieved April 2022]
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4. European integration as a priority
But the founding of NATO and the creation of West Germany were short-term measures, and there was a growing feeling in European Western States that they should join their efforts to survive at the World Level between the two super powers: the US and the USSR. The problem was how to do it as European governments were not willing to give up the smallest bit of sovereignty of their respective countries, as demonstrated the failure of the Hague Congress.
Fortunately 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, for instance, determinant 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 protected by NATO alliance and 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".
5. The Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950.
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 Schuman Declaration
6. The first European Community: the E.C.S.C.
The Treaty of Paris (18 April 1951) founding the European Coal and Steel Community (1952-2002) was not a constitution. It was a contract, an agreement creating a six member States European Community. Each of the signing states had their own constitution, legal system and full independence and sovereignty, with a tiny exception: they gave up control over the production of coal, iron and steel that depended on a High Authority that imposed its decisions over the member states.
The European Coal and Steel Community
7. The failure of the European Defense Community
As the Communitarian method had worked, the founding members of the ECSC decided to go for another try. But what was the most urgent question that ECSC member States faced? In the beginning of the cold war, with the mighty Stalin Army on its borders, and despite of the creation of NATO it made a lot of sense to create a European Defense Community (EDC). Proposed by the then French Prime Minister René Pleven the Treaty establishing the new community was signed on the 27 May 1952. However the Treaty was never effective as the French National Assembly refused to ratify it on 30 August 1954 by a vote of 319 against 264.
Military integration was by far a too sensitive matter, especially for the French in 1954, as France had suffered a severe defeat in the Dien Bien Phu battle (13 March to 7 May 1954) that ended the Indochina War and the French presence in this territory, actually Vietnam.
Even today, in a world of a growing tendency to a full scale war, with the Ukraine War started in February 2022, or the War in Gaza started in October 2024, with China menace of invasion of Taiwan, Europeans cannot agree in creating a Common Army. The 27 Member States of the EU are most unwilling to renounce to this essential part of their sovereignty: their national armies. So NATO and the US Army are the only way that Europe could prevent an open war with Russia or China.
8. Staying away from politics: getting back to the old idea of a European Customs Union.
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. Something that, as we already know had a precedent in the Prussian Zollverein (1834).
The negotiations result was the signature of the Treaty of Rome in March 1957, that enabled to create two new European Communities, besides the ESCC: the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC). T
The Treaties of Rome (25 March 1957)
The EEC was going to be the decisive step for initiating an effective integration. It was such a success that only 3 years later of its creation, the UK, that had refused initially to join the new European Customs Union, decided to retaliate with the creation of their own Customs Union. The European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) including besides the United Kingdom: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Portugal and Switzerland.
9. European integration slows down because of De Gaulle (1958-1969).
EFTA however did not go as well as expected as proven by the fact that one year later (July 1961) the British Government asked to join the EEC. They would have to wait however 13 years because they had the fierce opposition of the French President Charles De Gaulle (1958-1969) who felt France had been humiliated by Churchill in 1945.
The paradox is that De Gaulle did not like very much the idea of European integration, as he was a big supporter of the French "Grandeur" and he was not willing to give up any substantial parcel of French sovereignty. European integration was on its way but it had to slow down because De Gaulle French nationalism. During the 10 years he was in power he permanently vetoed the entry of the UK in the EEC. Let's say that after Brexit we have to conclude that De Gaulle was absolutely right about the fact that the British had nothing to do in an integrated Europe.
As De Gaulle did no accept that France would be obliged by a Majority Vote he started what was called the Empty Chair policy, meaning simply that France did not attend the European Summits, in a way to block any possibility of reaching agreements to take common decisions. The crisis was resolved through the Luxembourg Compromise that established the principle of unanimity vote of the Member States as the usual way of adopting decisions.
The other important point that De Gaulle imposed in Communitarian Europe was that the main decisions were personally adopted by the heads of State or Government. This is the origin of the actual European Council, that directly represent the member states in front of the Communitarian Executive (the Commission).
The Empty Chair Crisis
10. An enlarged Communitarian Europe
De Gaulle’s gone finally the European integration had a restart and new Member States were admitted in successive enlargements. The UK, with Ireland and Danemark joined Communitarian Europe in 1973. Since then many members state have joined the EEC including Greece (1981), Spain and Portugal (1986). After the creation in 1992 of the European Union, as a result of the fall of the Berlin Walll and the disappearance of the USSR, many more countries would integrate until reaching the actual number of 27. At one point there were 28 Member States, but the UK left on the 31 January 2020, implementing the vote at the Brexit Referendum in 2016.
11. Towards the European Union.
Before the decisive decade of the 1990's that saw the creation of the European Union there were substantial advances in the European integration as was the democratic election of a European Parliament since 1979. In 1985 the Schengen Treaty opened the way to the suppression of common frontiers and in 1986 the Common Market was relaunched through another Treaty: the Single European Act. Three Years later, the Fall of the Berlin Wall opened wide perspectives for a stronger integration. We will see its consequences in Teaching Guide number 12.
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,
23 May: Creation of the German Federal Republic.
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?
Spain signs the treaties for joining Communitarian Europe (12 June 1985)
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