Schuman Declaration
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The Schuman Declaration is the name of the May 9, 1950 public appeal by Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, to place France's and West Germany's coal and steel industries under joint management. Inspired by Jean Monnet, the declaration's goal was for France, West Germany, and the Benelux countries to share strategic resources in order to build a lasting peace in Europe. This led to the 1951 creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), first of the European Communities and predecessor of the European Union.
In addition, the plan was meant to stabilize the newly created Federal Republic of Germany. It was also to be seen as a sign of reconciliation between the two World War II adversaries, as opposed to the Treaty of Versailles following World War I which had imposed severe penalties and reparations on a defeated Germany that were considered humiliating.
The Schuman declaration is therefore considered by some as the beginning of Franco-German cooperation. Others believe that the true origin of this cooperation was the Elysée treaty of 1963 that was signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer. There is also a view that the implementation of the Marshall Plan, as the first practical step taken for European integration in the post-1945 world, also symbolized the modern re-founding of pan-European unity.
The resulting ECSC introduced a common free steel and coal market, with freely set market prices, and without import/export duties or subsidies. However, a transition period allowed the different economies to reach this situation over about one year.
In particular, the declaration specifies the creation of a higher authority independent of the national governments. It also mentions the prospect of a European federation: "Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity."
In 1985, during a period when the president of the European Commission was a Frenchman, Jacques Delors, the Milan Summit of European Union leaders chose to commemorate this event by marking May 9 as the EU-sponsored Europe Day (the Council of Europe sponsored Europe day is May 5). There is an alternative view that the signing of the Merger Treaty was the true founding of the EU, as this was the treaty establishing the principal organisational structures of the EU.
