How much do you know about the birth of the European Union?

The Birth of the European Union: The European Coal and Steel Community

• The Treaty of Paris in 1951 established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the first step towards the European Union.
• The Treaty of Paris reconciled French and American/British objectives to allow economic development in West Germany while minimizing the risk of a threat to French security from Germany.
• The supervision instituted after the war by the Allies over coal and steel production in Germany was to be maintained for as long as possible.
• The French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, proposed a common “High Authority” to supervise both French and German coal and steel production, inviting other European countries to join the initiative.
• The ECSC aimed to establish close cooperation on a foot of equality between France and Germany while allaying French fears of a revival of German militarism.
• The ECSC's aims were overwhelmingly political rather than economic, but its central aim was to encourage competition and cross-border trade in coal and steel for more efficient production and cheaper prices.
• The ECSC was established by France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Italy.
• The High Authority was the most powerful institution in the ECSC, with members appointed by the Member States but independent of them.
• The Court of Justice of the ECSC was created as a dedicated jurisdiction.
• The Assembly made up of representatives of national parliaments and the Council of Ministers made up of representatives of national governments had less power and more of a consultative role.
• The ECSC was a departure from the standard model for international organizations, which were primarily intergovernmental.
• The ECSC was not conceived as an end in itself but as a first step towards comprehensive European integration, according to its intellectual father, Jean Monnet.