Robert Schuman: Declaration of 9 May 1950

Summary:

The Schuman Declaration was presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950. It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), whose members would pool coal and steel production.

Further information:

In 1950, the nations of Europe were still struggling to overcome the devastation wrought by World War II. Determined to prevent another such terrible war, a group of European governments concluded that pooling coal and steel production would make war between historic rivals France and Germany 'not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible'. It was thought that merging of economic interests would help raise standards of living and be the first step towards a more united Europe. Membership of the ECSC was open to other countries.

The ECSC was the first of a series of supranational European institutions that would ultimately become the European Union. Its founding members were France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

• Alternative Source 1

Official

German Federal Foreign Office: Political Archive, 26/06/2015: The birth of European unification: the Schuman Plan https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aamt/politiscal-archive/-/215206

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Commentary and Analysis

Wikipedia: Schuman Declaration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schuman_Declaration

CVCE: From the Schuman Plan to the Paris Treaty (1950–1952) https://www.cvce.eu/en/recherche/unit-content/-/unit/5cc6b004-33b7-4e44-b6db-f5f9e6c01023

EUI: HAEU Online Exhibitions: Papers of the Robert Schuman Declaration https://blogs.eui.eu/haeu-exhibit/robert-schuman-declaration/

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