Failed attempts to set up a federal organisation in Europe

1. Failed attempts to set up a federal organisation in Europe • The OEEC or Organisation for European Economic Cooperation. • The Council of Europe. • In both the OEEC and the Council of Europe debates about European integration took place and initiatives were presented.

2. The ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) • The Schuman Plan was elaborated by Jean Monnet, and put forward by the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman. • The Schuman Plan aimed at making War in Europe not only ‘unthinkable, but materially impossible’ through the creation of a common market for iron, steel and coal in Europe.

3. The ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) • France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries (who were to become the founder members of the EEC) signed the Treaty of Paris establishing the ECSC in 1951. • Great Britain opposed the transfer of sovereignty to a supranational organisation so remained out of the initiative.

4. Attempts at co-operation in defence • In 1948France, Britain and Benelux signed the Treaty of Brussels that provided for a system of mutual assistance in the event of attack. • In 1949 these countries joined with the US, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Iceland to formthe NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation).

5. Attempts at co-operation in defence • 1952 Treaty on a European Defence Community (EDC) signed by the six future founding members of the EC. • 1953 a draft proposal for the creation of a European Political Community. • In 1954 the French Parliament refused to ratify the Treaty on the EDC. • Creation of the Western European Union (WEU) in 1955.

6. Agriculture • Exchange of interests between France and Germany. • Italy and The Netherlands could develop their typical forms of production. • At the time agriculture was extremely important economically, socially and politically. • The farm policies in the original EC (6) countries were very different and had to be harmonised.

7. Agriculture • The need to encourage competition and specialisation according to the principle of comparative advantage. • The harmonisation of agricultural prices was envisaged as the first step towards harmonisation of wage levels.

8. The proposed ‘green pool’ In 1950 the French presented the Charpentier Plan that entailed: • common agricultural prices, • the elimination of barriers on trade between the member states, • community preference, • a High Authority with supranational powers.

9. Towards the Treaties of Rome • In 1955 the Benelux countries presented a Memorandum calling for the creation of a common market, and specific action in the fields of energy and transport. • The Foreign Ministers of the Six at the Messina Conference considered the ideas of the Memorandum and agreed to set up the Spaak Committee.

10. Towards the Treaties of Rome • The Foreign Ministers of the Six in Venice in 1956 accepted the results of the Spaak Committee. • Work began on the two Treaties establishing the European Economic Committee and Euratom. These were signed in Rome in March 1957, and entered into force from January 1958.

11. EFTA (European Free Trade Association) • Faced with the creation of the EEC, in 1960 the European countries that then preferred intergovernmental co-operation decided to create the EFTA. • The founder members of EFTA were GB, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal. Subsequently Iceland (in 1970), Finland (in 1986) and Liechtenstein (in 1991) joined.

12. Article 2 of the Treaty of Rome(objectives of the EEC) • harmonious development; • continuous and balanced expansion; • increased stability; • ever more rapid growth in living standards; • closer links between the member states.

13. Article 3 lists the policies to be introduced: • the abolition of tariffs, and of quantitative and qualitative restrictions in intra-EC trade; • the creation of a common external commercial policy; • the elimination of obstacles to the free movement of people, capital goods and services; • a common agricultural policy; • a common transport policy;

14. Article 3 lists the policies to be introduced: • the introduction of means to ensure fair competition; • the co-ordination of the economic policies of the member states to avoid balance of payments disequilibria; • the creation of a European Social Fund (ESF); • the creation of a European Investment Bank (EIB); • special trade and development arrangements for colonies and ex-colonies.

15. The EEC in the 1960s (trade and agriculture) • The elimination of tariffs on intra-EC trade and the introduction of the common external tariff were largely completed by mid-1968, eighteen months ahead of schedule. • The main instruments of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) were in operation from 1967. • Britain applied for membership in 1961 and 1967, but on both occasions De Gaulle vetoed the application.

16. The 1969 Hague Summit At the Hague Summit of 1969 a package was presented, which contained three main elements: • completion (the EEC budget), • deepening (Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) by 1980 and European Political Co-operation), and • enlargement (in 1973 Britain, Ireland and Denmark became members).

17. Main developments in European Integration (1) • The Eurosclerosis of the 1970s and early 1980s. • The Internal Market Programme. • The Maastricht Treaty. • The 1995 EFTA enlargement.

18. Main developments in European Integration (2) • The Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), the Nice Treaty (2003), and the Constitutional Treaty (agreed by the European Council in June 2004). • The 2004 enlargement. • The Mediterranean Policy. • The Luxembourg Process or European Employment Strategy. • The Lisbon Strategy.