View source for European Coal and Steel Community

{{short description|Regulator of coal and steel markets, 1952–67}}
{{good article}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox Former International Organization
| conventional_long_name = European Coal and Steel Community<br />{{EU-institution in official languages
|name =
|width =
|font-size = 80%
|da = Europæiske Kul- og Stålfællesskab
|nl = Europese Gemeenschap voor Kolen en Staal
|fi = Euroopan hiili- ja teräsyhteisö
|fr = Communauté européenne du charbon et de l'acier
|de = Europäische Gemeinschaft für Kohle und Stahl
|el = Εὐρωπαϊκὴ Κοινότης Ἄνθρακος καὶ Χάλυβος
|ga = Comhphobal Eorpach do Ghual agus Chruach
|it = Comunità Europea del Carbone e dell'Acciaio
|pt = Comunidade Europeia do Carvão e do Aço
|es = Comunidad Europea del Carbón y del Acero
|sv = Europeiska Kol- och Stålgemenskapen
}}
| common_name            = ECSC
| status                 = International organization
| era                    = Cold War
| p1                     = International Authority for the Ruhr
| s1                     = European Economic Community
| flag_s1                =
| flag                   = Flag of the European Coal and Steel Community
| image_flag             = Flag of the European Coal and Steel Community 12 Star Version.svg
| image_map              = European Coal and Steel Community Map 1952.svg
| image_map_caption      = Founding members of the ECSC: <br />[[Belgium]], [[French Fourth Republic|France]], [[Italy]], [[Luxembourg]], the [[Netherlands]] and [[West Germany]]
| capital                = ''Not applicable''²
| common_languages       = {{Collapsible list |title=[[Languages of the European Union|11 (2002)]]³
|[[Danish language|Danish]]
|[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|[[English language|English]]
|[[Finnish language|Finnish]]
|[[French language|French]]
|[[German language|German]]
|[[Greek language|Greek]]
|[[Italian language|Italian]]
|[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
|[[Spanish language|Spanish]]
|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]
}}
| title_leader           = [[President of the European Commission#List of presidents|President of the]] [[High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community|High Authority]]
| leader1                = Jean Monnet
| year_leader1           = 1952–1955
| leader2                = René Mayer
| year_leader2           = 1955–1958
| leader3                = Paul Finet
| year_leader3           = 1958–1959
| leader4                = Piero Malvestiti
| year_leader4           = 1959–1963
| leader5                = Rinaldo Del Bo
| year_leader5           = 1963–1967
| event_start            = In force
| date_start             = 23 July
| year_start             = 1952
| event_end              = [[#Merger Treaty and expiry|Treaty expired]]
| date_end               = 23 July
| year_end               = 2002¹
| event1                 = [[Merger Treaty|Merger]]
| date_event1            = 1 July 1967
| event_pre              = Signing ([[Treaty of Paris (1951)|Treaty of Paris]])
| date_pre               = 18 April 1951
| today                  = {{Flag|European Union}}
| footnote1              = The ECSC treaty expired in 2002, fifty years after it came into force,<ref name="StartEnd">{{cite web|title=Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC Treaty, Summary|publisher=[[Europa (web portal)]]|url=http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/treaties/treaties_ecsc_en.htm|access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> but its institutions were taken over in 1967 following the Merger Treaty.
| footnote2              = The political centres were [[Luxembourg City|Luxembourg]] and [[Strasbourg]], later also [[City of Brussels|Brussels]].
| footnote3              = Initial founding languages, before the merger and subsequent enlargements, were [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]] and [[Italian language|Italian]].

}}
The '''European Coal and Steel Community''' ('''ECSC''') was a [[Europe|European]] [[international organization|organization]] created after [[World War II]] to integrate Europe's [[coal]] and [[steel]] industries into a [[Single market|single common market]] based on the principle of [[Supranational union|supranationalism]] which would be governed by the creation of a High Authority made up of appointed representatives from the member states who would not represent their [[national interest]], but would take and make decisions in the general interests of the Community as a whole.<ref name="ENA TEC">{{cite web |title=The European Communities |url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_european_communities-en-3940ef1d-7c10-4d0f-97fc-0cf1e86a32d4.html |access-date=4 March 2013 |publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]}}</ref> It was formally established in 1951 by the [[Treaty of Paris (1951)|Treaty of Paris]], signed by [[Belgium]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Luxembourg]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[West Germany]] and was generally seen as the first step in the process of [[European integration]] following the end of the [[Second World War]] in Europe. The organization's subsequent enlargement of both members and duties ultimately led to the creation of the [[European Union]]. 

The ECSC was first proposed via the [[Schuman Declaration]] by French foreign minister [[Robert Schuman]] on 9 May 1950 (commemorated in the EU as [[Europe Day]]), the day after the fifth [[Victory in Europe Day|anniversary of the end of World War II]], to prevent another war between France and [[Germany]]. He declared "the solidarity in production" from pooling "coal and steel production" would make war between the two "not only unthinkable but materially impossible".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schuman |first=Robert |date=9 May 1950 |title=The Schuman Plan Declaration |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/43776/1/A7519.pdf |access-date=6 April 2023 |website=European Community |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230516193200/http://aei.pitt.edu/43776/1/A7519.pdf |archive-date=May 16, 2023 }}</ref> The Treaty created a common market among member states that stipulated free movement of goods (without customs duties or taxes) and prohibited states from introducing unfair competitive or discriminatory practices.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC Treaty |date=2017 |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/treaty-establishing-the-european-coal-and-steel-community-ecsc-treaty.html |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=EUR-Lex |language=en}}</ref>

Its terms were enforced by four institutions: a [[High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community|High Authority]] composed of independent appointees, a Common Assembly composed of national parliamentarians, a Special Council composed of national ministers, and a Court of Justice. These would ultimately form the blueprint for today's [[European Commission]], [[European Parliament]], the [[Council of the European Union]], and the [[Court of Justice of the European Union]], respectively.

The ECSC set an example for the pan-European organizations created by the [[Treaty of Rome]] in 1957: the [[European Economic Community]] and [[European Atomic Energy Community]], with whom it shared its membership and some [[Institutions of the European Union|institutions]]. The 1967 [[Merger Treaty|Merger (Brussels) Treaty]] merged the ECSC's institutions into the European Economic Community, but the former retained its own independent legal personality until the Treaty of Paris expired in 2002, leaving its activities fully absorbed by the European Community under the frameworks of the [[Treaty of Amsterdam|Treaties of Amsterdam]] and [[Treaty of Nice|Nice]].

==History==
{{Further|History of European integration (1948–1957)}}
As [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister]] and [[Foreign Minister of France|Foreign Minister]], Schuman was instrumental in turning French policy away from the [[Gaullist]] objective of permanent occupation or control of parts of German territory such as the [[Ruhr]] or the [[Saar (protectorate)|Saar]]. Despite stiff [[ultra-nationalist]], Gaullist and communist opposition, the [[French National Assembly|French Assembly]] voted a number of resolutions in favour of his new policy of integrating Germany in a community. The [[International Authority for the Ruhr]] changed in consequence.
{{EU history}}

===Background: Schuman declaration===
{{Main| Schuman Declaration}}
The Schuman Declaration had the stated aim of preventing further antagonism between France and Germany<ref>
{{cite web
|url= https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/declaration-of-9-may-1950
|title= Declaration of 9 may
|publisher= Fondation Robert Schuman
|access-date= 11 June 2022
|quote= The coming together of the nations of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany. Any action taken must in the first place concern these two countries. [...] With this aim in view, the French Government proposes that action be taken immediately on one limited but decisive point : [...] It proposes that Franco-German production of coal and steel as a whole be placed under a common High Authority, within the framework of an organisation open to the participation of the other countries of Europe.
}}
</ref>
and among other European states<ref name="robert-schuman.eu">[http://www.robert-schuman.eu/declaration_9mai.php Declaration of 9 May 1950] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812212424/https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/declaration-of-9-may-1950
|date=12 August 2020 }} Fondation Robert Schuman</ref> by tackling the root cause of war through the establishment of common foundations for economic development.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/declaration-of-9-may-1950 | title= Declaration of 9 May 1950 | publisher= Fondation Robert Schuman | access-date=19 May 2023 }}</ref>  Schuman proposed the formation of the ECSC primarily with France and Germany in mind: "The coming together of the nations of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany. Any action taken must in the first place concern these two countries."<ref name="robert-schuman.eu" /> Portraying the coal and steel industries as integral to the production of munitions,<ref>
{{cite web
|url= https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/declaration-of-9-may-1950
|title= Declaration of 9 may
|publisher= Fondation Robert Schuman
|access-date= 11 June 2022
|quote= The pooling of coal and steel production should immediately provide for the setting up of common foundations for economic development as a first step in the federation of Europe, and will change the destinies of those regions which have long been devoted to the manufacture of munitions of war [...].
}}
</ref>
Schuman proposed that uniting these two industries across France and Germany under an innovative supranational system (that also included a European anti-[[cartel]] agency) would "make war between France and Germany [...] not only unthinkable but materially impossible".<ref>[http://www.schuman.info/9MayProp.htm#war Robert Schuman's proposal of 9 May 1950] Schuman Project - "This merging of our interests in coal and steel production and our joint action will make it plain that any war between France and Germany becomes not only unthinkable but materially impossible."</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url= https://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/declaration-of-9-may-1950
|title= Declaration of 9 may
|publisher= Fondation Robert Schuman
|access-date= 11 June 2022
|quote= The solidarity in production thus established will make it plain that any war between France and Germany becomes not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible. 
}}
</ref>

===Negotiations===
Following the Schuman Declaration in May 1950, negotiations on what became the [[Treaty of Paris (1951)]] began on 20 June 1950.<ref name="duchene">{{cite book | last=Duchêne | first=François | title=Jean Monnet: The First Statesman of Interdependence |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=1994 |isbn=0-393-03497-6 |location=New York }}</ref>{{rp|209}} The objective of the treaty was to create a single market in the coal and steel industries of the member states.  Customs duties, subsidies, discriminatory and restrictive practices were all to be abolished.<ref name="duchene" />{{rp|210}}  The single market was to be supervised by a High Authority, with powers to handle extreme shortages of supply or demand, to tax, and to prepare production forecasts as guidelines for investment.<ref name="duchene" />{{rp|210}}

A key issue in the negotiations for the treaty was the break-up of the excessive concentrations in the coal and steel industries of the Ruhr, where the ''Konzerne'', or trusts, had underlain the military power of the former Reich.<ref name="monnet">{{cite book | last=Monnet | first=Jean | title=Memoirs | publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc. | year=1978|isbn=0-385-12505-4|location=Garden City, New York| translator-last=Mayne|translator-first=Richard}}</ref>{{rp|351}} The Germans regarded the concentration of coal and steel as one of the bases of their economic efficiency, and a right.  The steel barons were a formidable lobby because they embodied a national tradition.<ref name="duchene"/>{{rp|216}}

The US was not officially part of the treaty negotiations, but it was a major force behind the scenes.<ref name="duchene"/>{{rp|212}}  The [[Allied High Commission|US High Commissioner for Occupied Germany]], [[John J. McCloy|John McCloy]], was an advocate of [[decartelization]] and his chief advisor in Germany was a Harvard anti-trust lawyer, [[Robert R. Bowie|Robert Bowie]].<ref name="duchene"/>{{rp|213}} Bowie was asked to draft anti-trust articles, and texts of the two articles he prepared (on cartels and the abuse of monopoly power) became the basis of the treaty's [[Competition law|competition policy]] regime.<ref name="duchene"/>{{rp|213}}  Also, [[Raymond Vernon]] in the State Department (of later fame for his studies on industrial policy at Harvard university) carefully reviewed successive drafts of the treaty.  He stressed the importance of the freedom of the projected common market from restrictive practices.<ref name="duchene"/>{{rp|212}}

The Americans insisted that the German coal sales monopoly, the ''Deutscher Kohlenverkauf'' (''DKV''), should lose its monopoly, and that the steel industries should no longer own the coalmines.<ref name="monnet"/>{{rp|351}}  It was agreed that the ''DKV'' would be broken up into four independent sales agencies.  The steel firm ''Vereinigte Stahlwerke'' was to be divided into thirteen firms, and Krupp into two.<ref name="duchene"/>{{rp|218}} Ten years after the Schuman negotiations, a US State Department official noted that while the articles as finally agreed were more qualified than American officials in touch with the negotiations would have wished, they were "almost revolutionary" in terms of the traditional European approach to these basic industries.<ref name="duchene"/>{{rp|215}}

===Political pressures and treaty ratification===
In West Germany, [[Karl Arnold]], the Minister President of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], the state that included the coal and steel producing [[The ruhr|Ruhr]], was initially spokesman for German foreign affairs. He gave a number of speeches and broadcasts on a supranational coal and steel community at the same time as Robert Schuman began to propose this Community in 1948 and 1949. The [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] ({{langx|de|Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands}}, SPD), in spite of support from unions and other socialists in Europe, decided it would oppose the Schuman plan. [[Kurt Schumacher]]'s personal distrust of France, capitalism, and [[Konrad Adenauer]] aside, he claimed that a focus on integrating with a "Little Europe of the Six" would override the SPD's prime objective of German reunification and thus empower ultra-nationalist and Communist movements in democratic countries. He also thought the ECSC would end any hopes of nationalising the steel industry and lock in a Europe of "cartels, clerics and conservatives".<ref name=Orlow2002>{{cite book|author=Orlow, D.|year = 2002|pages=168–172|title = Common Destiny: A Comparative History of the Dutch, French, and German Social Democratic Parties, 1945–1969|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn =978-1571811851 }}</ref> Younger members of the party like [[Carlo Schmid (German politician)|Carlo Schmid]], were, however, in favor of the Community and pointed to the long socialist support for the supranational idea.

In France, Schuman had gained strong political and intellectual support from all sections of the nation and many non-communist parties. Notable amongst these were ministerial colleague [[Andre Philip]], president of the Foreign Relations Committee [[Edouard Bonnefous]], and former prime minister, [[Paul Reynaud]]. Projects for a coal and steel authority and other supranational communities were formulated in specialist subcommittees of the Council of Europe in the period before it became French government policy. [[Charles de Gaulle]], who was then out of power, had been an early supporter of "linkages" between economies, on French terms, and had spoken in 1945 of a "European confederation" that would exploit the resources of the [[Ruhr]]. However, he opposed the ECSC as a ''faux'' (false) pooling ("''le pool, ce faux semblant''") because he considered it an unsatisfactory "piecemeal approach" to European unity and because he considered the French government "too weak" to dominate the ECSC as he thought proper.<ref name=Chopra1974>{{cite book|author=Chopra, H.S.|year = 1974|title = De Gaulle and European unity|pages = 28–33|publisher=Abhinav Publications}}</ref> De Gaulle also felt that the ECSC had an insufficient supranational mandate because its Assembly was not ratified by a European referendum and he did not accept [[Raymond Aron]]'s contention that the ECSC was intended as a movement away from United States domination. Consequently, de Gaulle and his followers in the [[Rally of the French People|RPF]] voted against ratification in the [[National Assembly of France|lower house of the French Parliament]].<ref name=Chopra1974/>

Despite these attacks and those from the extreme left, the ECSC found substantial public support. It gained strong majority votes in all eleven chambers of the parliaments of the Six, as well as approval among associations and European public opinion. In 1950, many had thought another war was inevitable. The steel and coal interests, however, were quite vocal in their opposition. The Council of Europe, created by a proposal of Schuman's first government in May 1948, helped articulate European public opinion and gave the Community idea positive support.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

The UK Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee]] opposed Britain joining the proposed European Coal and Steel Community, saying that he 'would not accept the [UK] economy being handed over to an authority that is utterly undemocratic and is responsible to nobody.'<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200131015830/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-timeline/a-long-and-winding-road-the-uk-journey-in-and-out-of-the-eu-idUKKBN1ZT2F3 Reuters] Retrieved 29 March 2020.</ref><ref>McCormick, J. (2011). ''European Union Politics'', p.73.</ref>

===Founding treaty===
{{Main|Treaty of Paris (1951)}}
[[File:Oprichtingsverdrag EGKS NL-HaNA 2.02.20 10123.jpg|thumb|left]]
The 100-article [[Treaty of Paris (1951)|Treaty of Paris]], which established the ECSC, was signed on 18 April 1951 by "the [[inner six]]": France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The ECSC was based on supranational principles<ref name="ENA TEC"/> and was, through the establishment of a common market for coal and steel, intended to expand the economy, increase employment, and raise the standard of living within the Community. The market was also intended to progressively rationalise the distribution of production whilst ensuring stability and employment. The common market for coal was opened on 10 February 1953, and for steel on 1 May 1953.<ref name="ENA TEEC"/> Upon taking effect, the ECSC replaced the [[International Authority for the Ruhr]].<ref>[http://images.library.wisc.edu/History/EFacs/GerRecon/omg1952Jan/reference/history.omg1952jan.i0023.pdf Office of the US High Commissioner for Germany Office of Public Affairs, Public Relations Division, APO 757, US Army, January 1952] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207014915/http://images.library.wisc.edu/History/EFacs/GerRecon/omg1952Jan/reference/history.omg1952jan.i0023.pdf |date=7 December 2020 }} "Plans for terminating international authority for the Ruhr", pp. 61–62</ref>

On 11 August 1952, the United States was the first non-ECSC member to recognise the Community and stated it would now deal with the ECSC on coal and steel matters, establishing its delegation in Brussels. Monnet responded by choosing [[Washington, D.C.]], as the site of the ECSC's first external presence. The headline of the delegation's first bulletin read "Towards a Federal Government of Europe".<ref>[http://www.eurunion.org/eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=37 Washington Delegation History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080825121612/http://www.eurunion.org/eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=37 |date=25 August 2008 }}, Delegation of the European Commission to the United States</ref>

Six years after the Treaty of Paris, the [[Treaties of Rome]] were signed by the six ECSC members, creating the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC) and the [[European Atomic Energy Community]] (EAEC or Euratom). These Communities were based, with some adjustments, on the ECSC. The Treaties of Rome were to be in force indefinitely, unlike the Treaty of Paris, which was to last for a renewable period of fifty years. These two new Communities worked on the creation of a [[customs union]] and [[nuclear power]] community respectively.<ref name="ENA TEC"/>

===Merger Treaty===
{{Further|Timeline of European Union history}}
Despite being separate [[legal personality|legal entities]], the ECSC, EEC and Euratom initially shared the [[European Parliament|Common Assembly]] and the [[European Court of Justice]], although the [[Council of the European Union|Councils]] and the [[European Commission|High Authority/Commissions]] remained separate. To avoid duplication, the [[Merger Treaty]] merged these separate bodies of the ECSC and Euratom with those of the EEC. The EEC later became one of the [[Three pillars of the European Union|three pillars]] of the present day European Union.<ref name="ENA TEC"/>

The Treaty of Paris was frequently amended as the EC and EU evolved and [[Enlargement of the European Union|expanded]]. 

===Expiry===
With the treaty due to expire in 2002, debate began at the beginning of the 1990s on what to do with it. It was eventually decided that it should be left to expire. The areas covered by the ECSC's treaty were transferred to the [[Treaty of Rome]] and the financial loose ends and the ECSC research fund were dealt with via a protocol of the [[Treaty of Nice]]. The treaty finally expired on 23 July 2002.<ref name="EC TE-ECSC">{{cite web|title=Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC Treaty|publisher=[[Europa (web portal)]]|url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/treaties/ecsc_en.htm|access-date=16 December 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213202339/http://europa.eu/scadplus/treaties/ecsc_en.htm|archive-date=13 December 2007}}</ref> That day, the [[Flag of the European Coal and Steel Community|ECSC flag]] was lowered for the final time outside the [[European Commission]] in [[Brussels]] and replaced with the [[Flag of Europe|EU flag]].<ref name="ENA FLAG">{{cite web|title=Ceremony to mark the expiry of the ECSC Treaty (Brussels, 23&nbsp;July 2002)|date=23 July 2002|publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/ceremony_to_mark_the_expiry_of_the_ecsc_treaty_brussels_23_july_2002-en-5fc19504-48f9-4cba-adde-70629a43f606.html|access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref>

==Institutions==
{{Further|Institutions of the European Union}}
The institutions of the ECSC were the High Authority, the Common Assembly, the Special Council of Ministers and the Court of Justice. A Consultative Committee was established alongside the High Authority, as a fifth institution representing producers, workers, consumers and dealers (article 18).  These institutions were merged in 1967 with those of the European Community,<ref name="ENA TEEC">{{cite web|title=The Treaties establishing the European Communities|publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_treaties_establishing_the_european_communities-en-4a537592-d9d0-41a7-853a-f6cd74aed386.html|access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref> except for the Consultative Committee, which continued to be independent until the expiration of the Treaty of Paris in 2002.<ref name="ENA CC"/>

The Treaty stated that the [[Location of European Union institutions|location of the institutions]] would be decided by common accord of the members, yet the issue was hotly contested. As a temporary compromise, the institutions were provisionally located in the [[Luxembourg (city)|City of Luxembourg]], while the Assembly was based in [[Strasbourg]].<ref name="ENA seats">{{cite web|title=The seats of the institutions of the European Union|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_seats_of_the_institutions_of_the_european_union-en-cd672879-aeb1-4cad-a0c1-9e4ff75ff660.html|publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]|access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref>

===High Authority===
[[File:BCEE Place de Metz Luxembourg 2013 02.JPG|thumb|Former headquarters of the [[High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community|High Authority]] in Luxembourg]]
{{Main|High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community}}
The High Authority (the predecessor to the [[European Commission]]) was a nine-member executive body which governed the ECSC. The Authority consisted of nine members in office for a term of six years, appointed by the governments of the six signatories.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dedman|first=Martin|title=The Origins and Development of the European Union|url=https://archive.org/details/originsdevelopme00dedm|url-access=limited|year=2010|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, Oxon|isbn=978-0-415-43561-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/originsdevelopme00dedm/page/n74 60]}}</ref> Two were from each of France, Germany and Italy; and one from each of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.  These members appointed a person among themselves to be [[President of the European Commission|President of the High Authority]].<ref name="ENA TEEC"/>

Despite being appointed by agreement of national governments acting together, the members were to pledge not to represent their [[national interest]], but rather took an oath to defend the general interests of the Community as a whole. Their independence was aided by members being barred from having any occupation outside the Authority or having any business interests (paid or unpaid) during their tenure and for three years after they left office.<ref name="ENA TEEC"/> To further ensure impartiality, one third of the membership was to be renewed every two years (article 10).

The Authority had a broad area of competence to ensure the objectives of the treaty were met and that the common market functioned smoothly. The High Authority could issue three [[Law of the European Union#Legislation|types of legal instruments]]: [[Regulation (European Union)|Decisions]], which were entirely binding laws; [[Directive (European Union)|Recommendations]], which had binding aims but the methods were left to [[member states]]; and Opinions, which had no legal force.<ref name="ENA TEEC"/>

Up to the merger in 1967, the authority had five Presidents followed by an interim President serving for the final days.<ref name="ENA HAC">{{cite web|title=Members of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)|publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/members_of_the_high_authority_of_the_european_coal_and_steel_community_ecsc-en-dc703b1e-de8e-4dd9-afeb-cb0c1fdf31de.html|access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref>

===Common Assembly===
The Common Assembly (the forerunner to the [[European Parliament]]) was composed of 78 representatives: 18 from each of France, Germany, and Italy; 10 from Belgium and the Netherlands; and 4 from Luxembourg (article 21).  It exercised supervisory powers over the executive High Authority (article 20). The Common Assembly representatives were to be national MPs delegated each year by their Parliaments to the Assembly or directly elected "by universal suffrage" (article 21), though in practice it was the former, as there was no requirement for elections until the [[Treaties of Rome]] and no actual election [[1979 European Parliament election|until 1979]], as Rome required agreement in the council on the [[electoral system]] first. However, to emphasise that the chamber was not a traditional international organisation composed of representatives of national governments, the Treaty of Paris used the term "representatives of the peoples".<ref name="ENA TEEC"/>  Some hoped the Community would use the institutions (Assembly, Court) of the Council of Europe, and The Treaty's ''Protocol on Relations with the Council of Europe'' encouraged links between the two institutions' assemblies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Treaty of Paris: Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/treaty-of-paris|access-date=24 September 2021|website=About Parliament: European Parliament}}</ref> The ECSC Assembly was intended as a democratic counter-weight and check to the High Authority, to advise but also to have power to sack the Authority (article 24). The first [[President of the European Parliament|President]] (akin to a Speaker) was [[Paul-Henri Spaak]].<ref name="ENA multi">{{cite web | title = Negotiations on the ECSC Treaty : Multilateral negotiations | publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]] | url =http://www.cvce.eu/obj/negotiations_on_the_ecsc_treaty-en-dde9a336-6df6-40f5-902a-417ecda702e0.html|access-date =4 March 2013 }}</ref>

===Special Council of Ministers===
The Special Council of Ministers (the forerunner to the [[Council of the European Union]]) was composed of representatives of national governments. The [[Presidency of the Council of the European Union|Presidency]] was held by each state for a period of three months, rotating between them in alphabetical order. One of its key aspects was the harmonisation of the work of the High Authority and that of national governments. The council was also required to issue opinions on certain areas of work of the High Authority.<ref name="ENA TEEC"/> Issues relating only to coal and steel were in the exclusive domain of the High Authority, and in these areas the council (unlike the modern council) could only act as a scrutiny on the Authority. However, areas outside coal and steel required the consent of the council.<ref name="ENA history">{{cite web|publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]|title = Council of the European Union|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_council_of_the_european_union-en-de23700c-e50a-4e0e-a7de-80665e4caf9f.html|access-date =4 March 2013}}</ref>

===Court of Justice===
The Court of Justice was to ensure the observation of ECSC law along with the interpretation and application of the Treaty. The Court was composed of seven judges, appointed by common accord of the national governments for six years. There were no requirements that the judges had to be of a certain nationality, simply that they be qualified and that their independence be beyond doubt. The Court was assisted by two Advocates General.<ref name="ENA TEEC"/>

===Consultative Committee===
The Consultative Committee (forerunner to the [[Economic and Social Committee]]) had between 30 and 51 members equally divided between producers, workers, consumers and dealers in the coal and steel sector (article 18). There were no national quotas, and the treaty required representatives of European associations to organise their own democratic procedures. They were to establish rules to make their membership fully representative for democratic organised civil society. Members were appointed for two years and were not bound by any mandate or instruction of the organisations which appointed them. The committee had a plenary assembly, bureau and president. Nomination of these members remained in the hands of the council. The High Authority was obliged to consult the committee in certain cases where it was appropriate and to keep it informed.<ref name="ENA TEEC"/> The Consultative Committee remained separate (despite the merger of the other institutions) until 2002, when the Treaty expired and its duties were taken over by the Economic and Social Committee (ESC).<ref name="ENA CC">{{cite web|publisher=[[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]|title =European Economic and Social Committee and ECSC Consultative Committee |url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/european_economic_and_social_committee_and_ecsc_consultative_committee-en-591d6c9e-8031-460a-9546-1f57f72344a7.html|access-date =4 March 2013}}</ref>

== Members ==
[[File:European Coal and Steel Community.svg|alt=Map of the 15 ECSC members in 2002|thumb|The 15 ECSC (EU) members in 2002]]
{| class="wikitable"
!Date
!Members
!Members added
|-
|23 July 1952
|6
|The ''[[Inner Six]]'': Belgium, France, [[West Germany]], Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
|-
|{{Dts|1973|01|01|format=dmy}}
|9
|Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom
|-
|{{Dts|1981|01|01|format=dmy}}
|10
|Greece
|-
|{{Dts|1986|01|01|format=dmy}}
|12
|Portugal and Spain
|-
|1 January 1995
|15
|Austria, Finland and Sweden
|}
After the original six members, the ESCS expanded to all members of the [[European Economic Community]] (later renamed the European Community) and the European Union (15 countries in 2002 at the time of the expiry of the Treaty of Paris).<ref>{{Cite web |title=European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/European-Coal-and-Steel-Community |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-29 |title=From 6 to 27 members |url=https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/6-27-members_en |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

==Achievements and shortcomings==
===Major goal: Ending war between member states===
Schuman described the goal as to "make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible" for signatory states. This is described in the treaty's preamble. It commences quoting the French Government Proposal of Schuman:

"World peace cannot be safeguarded without creative measures commensurate with the dangers which threaten it." Europe had been at the centre of world wars. For this the Community created the world's first international anti-cartel agency. Treaty Chapters VI ''Ententes et Concentrations'' and VII on the Free Market describe joint action against cartels and trusts which were instrumental in world war arms races, and activities leading to the disruption of the free market.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The six founder member states are now living in the longest period of peace in more than 2000 years of their histories.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Price|first1=David H|title=Schuman Project|url=http://www.schuman.info|website=Schuman project|publisher=info.schuman.info|access-date=16 March 2023}}</ref>

===Economic===
The economic mission of the ECSC (article 2) was to "contribute to economic expansion, the development of employment and the improvement of the standard of living in participating countries".<ref name="treaty">{{cite web | title= The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) | url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Treaty_establishing_the_European_Coal_and_Steel_Community_(ECSC) }}</ref>  Writing in ''[[Le Monde]]'' in 1970, Gilbert Mathieu argued the Community had little effect on coal and steel ''production'', which was influenced more by global trends.<ref name="mathieu">{{cite web | last=Mathieu | first=Gilbert | translator-last=((CVCE.EU by UNI.LU)) | title=The history of the ECSC: good times and bad | publisher=Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe | date=1970-05-09 | page=6 | url=https://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_history_of_the_ecsc_good_times_and_bad_from_le_monde_9_may_1970-en-54f09b32-1b0c-4060-afb3-5e475dcafda8.html }}</ref>  From 1952, oil, gas, and electricity became competitors to coal, so the 28% reduction in the amount of coal mined in the Six had little connection with the Treaty of Paris.<ref name="mathieu" />  However, the Treaty caused costs to be reduced by the abolition of discriminatory railway tariffs, and this promoted trade between members: steel trade increased tenfold.<ref name="mathieu" />  The High Authority also issued 280 modernization loans which helped the industry to improve output and reduce costs.<ref name="mathieu" />

Mathieu claims the ECSC failed to achieve several fundamental aims of the Treaty of Paris. He argues that the "pool" did not prevent the resurgence of large coal and steel groups, such as the ''[[Konzerne]]'', which helped [[Adolf Hitler]] build his war machine.<ref name="mathieu" />  The cartels and major companies re-emerged, leading to apparent [[price fixing]].<ref name="mathieu" />  Furthermore, the Community failed to define a common energy policy.<ref name="mathieu" />  Mathieu also argues the ECSC fell short of ensuring an upward equalisation of pay of workers within the industry.<ref name="mathieu" />  These failures could be put down to overambition in a short period of time, or that the goals were merely political posturing to be ignored.<ref name="Mathieu">{{cite web|last=Mathieu|first=Gilbert|date=9 May 1970|title=The history of the ECSC: good times and bad|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_history_of_the_ecsc_good_times_and_bad_from_le_monde_9_may_1970-en-54f09b32-1b0c-4060-afb3-5e475dcafda8.html|access-date=4 March 2013|work=Le Monde|location=France, accessed on [[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]}}</ref>

The ECSC's greatest achievements relate to welfare issues, according to Mathieu.<ref name="Mathieu"/> Some miners had extremely poor housing and over 15 years the ECSC financed 112,500 flats for workers, paying US$1,770 per flat, enabling workers to buy a home they could not have otherwise afforded. The ECSC also paid half the occupational redeployment costs of those workers who had lost their jobs as coal and steel facilities began to close down. Combined with regional redevelopment aid the ECSC spent $150 million (835 million francs) creating around 100,000 jobs, a third of which were offered to unemployed coal and steel workers. The welfare guarantees invented by the ECSC were copied and extended by several of the Six to workers outside the coal and steel sectors.<ref name="Mathieu"/>

Far more important than creating Europe's first social and regional policy, Robert Schuman argued that the ECSC introduced European peace.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schuman declaration May 1950 |url=https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/history-eu/1945-59/schuman-declaration-may-1950_en |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=european-union.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref> It involved the continent's first European tax. This was a flat tax, a levy on production with a maximum rate of one percent. Given that the European Community countries are now experiencing the longest period of peace in more than seventy years,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Price|first1=David H|title=Schuman Project|url=http://www.schuman.info|website=Schuman project|publisher=info.schuman.info|access-date=30 July 2015}}</ref> this has been described as the cheapest tax for peace in history.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}  Another world war, or "world suicide" as Schuman called this threat in 1949, was avoided.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}

==See also==
* [[Energy Community]]
* [[Energy policy of the European Union]]
* [[Flag of the European Coal and Steel Community]]
* [[History of the European Union]]
* [[History of the Ruhr District]]
* [[Industrial plans for Germany]]
* [[Monnet plan]]
* [[Schuman Declaration]]
* [[Supranationalism]]
* [[Supranational union]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last = Grin | first = Gilles | year = 2003 | title = The Battle of the Single European Market: Achievements and Economic Thought, 1945–2000 | publisher=Kegan Paul | isbn = 978-0-7103-0938-9}}
* {{cite book | last = Hitchcock | first = William I. | year = 1998 | title = France Restored: Cold War Diplomacy and the Quest for Leadership in Europe, 1944–1954 | publisher=University of North Carolina Press | isbn = 0-8078-4747-X}}
* {{cite book | last = Maas | first = Willem | year = 2007 | title = Creating European Citizens | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield | isbn = 978-0-7425-5485-6}}
* {{Cite book | title = Schuman or Monnet? The real Architect of Europe. Robert Schuman's speeches and texts on the origin, purpose and future of Europe | date=29 August 2023 | publisher=Bron | isbn = 978-0-9527276-4-4}}

==External links==
{{commons category|European Coal and Steel Community}}
* [https://archives.eui.eu/en/isaar/24 Documents] of the European Coal and Steel Community are consultable at the [http://www.eui.eu/Research/HistoricalArchivesOfEU/Index.aspx Historical Archives of the EU] in Florence
* rtsp://rtsppress.cec.eu.int/Archive/video/mpeg/i000679/i000679.rm{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (insert address into [[RealPlayer]]) Common Destiny, a period film explaining the Coal and Steel Community, [[Europa (web portal)]]
* [https://www.cvce.eu/obj/treaty_establishing_the_european_coal_and_steel_community_paris_18_april_1951-en-11a21305-941e-49d7-a171-ed5be548cd58.html Treaty constituting the European Coal and Steel Community], [[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]
* [http://www.schuman.info Schuman info]
* [https://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_institutions_of_the_european_coal_and_steel_community_ecsc-en-216ffbc4-042d-4954-b8ea-30c59d59a447.html The institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community], [[Centre virtuel de la connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]]
* [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/pdfs/5-5.pdf Ruhr Delegation of the United States of America, Council of Foreign Ministers American Embassy Moscow, 24 March 1947] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510051214/https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/marshall/large/documents/pdfs/5-5.pdf |date=10 May 2018 }}, [[Truman Library]]

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[[Category:1951 in the European Economic Community]]
[[Category:1952 in the European Economic Community]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1952]]
[[Category:2002 in the European Union]]
[[Category:1951 in economic history]]
[[Category:1952 in economic history]]
[[Category:Euro]]
[[Category:History of the European Union]]