Copies of records of the European Coal and Steel Community

Division within DG

1952-1961

Copies of records of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) relating to the administration of a common market for coal and steel comprising microfiche copies of selected documents, along with printed finding aids in DG 6

Historical Archives of the European Community, European University Institute, Florence, Italy

Public Record(s)

French

1 series

Historical Archives of the European Community, European University Institute, Florence, Italy in 1996

Topics

Trade and commerce

Coal

Iron, steel and metals

In May 1950 the Foreign Minister of France, M Robert Schumann, proposed that a common market for coal and steel should be set up by countries in Europe willing to delegate powers over these sectors of their economies to an independent authority. The plan was intended, by creating a new political and economic framework, to achieve a measure of European unity and to avoid the possibility of future Franco-German conflict.

The plan was accepted by France, Germany, Italy and the three Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, who since October 1949 had been joined by treaty in an economic union), who in April 1951 signed a treaty in Paris to form the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Its objectives were to abolish all customs and other restrictions on the movement of coal and steel between their countries and to end government subsidies and discriminatory practices amongst producers, purchasers and users, and to eliminate all practices which interfered with the free operation of the market in coal and steel.

ECSC was governed by a high authority (the permanent executive organ of the community), assisted by a consultative committee, a common assembly, a council of ministers and a court of justice. Fully binding decisions were taken by majority vote by the high authority, but on contentious issues the decisions were referred to the consultative committee, on which sat coal and steel industry representatives from the community states.

The assembly could overrule the high authority by a two- thirds majority vote, and was made up of delegates from the national parliaments. The council of ministers' function was to harmonise the policies of the high authority and the relevant countries. Generally, authority on substantive matters rested not with the high authority, but with the national governments, the high authority only having true autonomy in matters of lesser importance.

The experience of the six states working together in ECSC was of importance in the lead-up to the formation of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957. ECSC's assembly and court of justice were replaced in that year by parallel institutions established by the European Economic Community, and in July 1967 its executive organs were merged with those of the EEC and Euratom to form a single council of ministers and a single commission of the European Communities.