The struggle for the organisation of Europe. The foundations of the European Union

The struggle for the organization of Europe: the foundations of the European Union:

This book takes the view that European integration has been driven by political rather than economic considerations. From the end of the Second World War any plan of economic or monetary co-operation in Europe was almost exclusively motivated by politics. The author argues that the very foundation of the organization of Western Europe was based on preventing further conflict between France and the newly partitioned Germany. Specifically, he analyses the initial stages of European co-operation between 1947 and 1957. He demonstrates that European institutions usually associated with economic integration, such as the European Economic Community, were actually laid to achieve the political aim of reconciliation between France and Germany.

The chapters cover the various stages of European co-operation immediately following the Second World War. The first chapter covers the theoretical background used as a guideline for studying the organisation of Western European co-operation during this period. Subsequent chapters look at the 'German problem', the Marshall Plan to OEEC, the creation of NATO, the Schuman Plan to the ECSC, the Pleven Plan to WEU, and the EEC and Euratom. In the final chapter the author briefly takes the reader forward, from the Treaty of Rome onwards, finally looking EMU in the context of German and French attitudes towards European Union issues.