European Coal and Steel Community

The treaty instituting the European Coal and Steel Community ( ECSC ) was signed with Paris the April 18th 1951 by the Belgium, the France, the Italy, the the Federal Republic of Germany, the Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Initiated by Jean Monnet, it had a 50 years validity; it came into effect the July 23rd 1952. ECSC thus does not exist any more since the July 22nd 2002.

The proposal for a its creation, announced by Robert Schuman (at the time of its speech on May 9th, 1950: day of Europe), then French Foreign Minister, was very quickly accepted by all the countries which ratified the treaty in less than one year.

Constituting the main wealth of the Western countries, steel had played a big role in the Second world war (manufacture of the weapons). The project consists in sharing the production and the consumption of steel and coal between the France and the Germany for then creating a European organization open to the other countries of Europe. This project has in particular a political goal, because by signing this alliance a few years after the end of war, the two countries then show of their co-operation and thus their at least economic reconciliation.

Behind the purely economic aspect, the will is to bring together the former still ravaged enemies by the Second world war, by controlling the productions of coal and Acier which is at the base of the industry of Guerre.

The treaty founds a Common Market of coal and steel, removes the customs duties and the quantitative restrictions blocking freedom of movement of these marchandises ; it also removes all discriminatory measurements, assistances or subsidies, which would be granted by the States signatories to their national production.

The principle of free-competition, while making it possible the States to keep a control on their provisioning, allowing the maintenance of the prices low the possible level, is adopted.

The installation of the treaty was done in several stages. The two principal ones are:

the creation of the High ranking authority chaired initially by Jean Monnet, whose seat was with Luxembourg;
the installation one period of adaptation for national industries.

ECSC was already heralding the European Union and its institutions:

the High ranking authority (made up of 9 members), supranational body charged to work out the policies relating to coal and steel, is the ancestor of the European commission. The High ranking authority is amalgamated in 1965 with the commissions of the EEC and Euratom in 1967 in a single commission, by the means of the Treaty Merger of the executives,
a the Council of Ministers which gathered the representatives of the six countries,
a made up Assemblée members designated by the national parliaments. This one will be then common to the EEC and Euratom for then giving rise to the the European Parliament,
a Court of justice charged to slice the possible litigations.

All these bodies evolved/moved and are found in the structure of the current European institutions.

The market was finally entirely open the February 18th 1953 for the coal and the iron ore and on May 1st 1953 for steel. For the first time in the long story of the Europe, the governments delegated a share of their sovereignty to an high ranking authority independent of any Member State. Jean Monnet saw in the supranational institutions the solution with the conflicts in Europe because, according to him, the nations cannot find agreement within the framework of their respective national sovereignty.

This treaty fell today. It was the precursor of the the Treaty of Rome, founder of the European Economic community which became the European Union in 1992.

Chronology of the European Union

External bonds

Treated establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC): European NAvigator
full text with reading
full text directly to be ordered by email on the legal site of the EU

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