What factors in the period 1945-57 stimulated the cause of European economic and political union?

A main feature of Schuman’s proposals in May 1950 was to promote Franco-German co-operation. The German coal and steel industry “needed to be integrated in order to prevent any sudden increase of German coal and steel output for rearmament purposes.” As coal and steel was a key sector of wartime economy it was thought that the ECSC would not only make war undesirable, but it would become a physical impossibility between the long-term enemies. Inevitably this would serve to strengthen the bond between the countries promoting their economies and harmonising them politically. It was to be the first step in a programme to unite Europe gradually, in order to instil confidence in supranational led co-operation and also to reduce conflict that sudden and substantial changes may cause.  

Although the emphasis of the French Foreign Minister’s proposals was on Franco-German relations, the importance of Italy and the Benelux countries as members of the ECSC cannot be underestimated. Their presence stressed the need for right to prevail over might, and Benelux reinforced this by refusing to accept the plans unless Germany’s coal and steel producers were fractured into smaller sections. The fact that there was a “system of weighted voting” highlights its fairness. Being relatively industrially undeveloped, Italy’s membership epitomised the economic gains that being part of the community could bring. “By 1948 Italian industry had again reached the pre-war level” and by the early sixties “Italy made more rapid progress than any other major country in the world”.

When the plans set out in 1950 finally became reality two years later as the ECSC, a High Authority was set up consisting of nine members. They would be accountable to the seventy-eight members that made up the Common Assembly. These institutions were independent and funded by their own tax from the coal and steel producers. This was vital in the promotion of both economic and political unification as it set the trend for future organisations, emphasising the essence of the community, striving for fairness, equality and freedom that could only be provided by an independent body.      

The High Authority’s job was to be solely economic, ensuring the members of the ECSC exploited all potential economic advantages that the community presented. These included economies of scale, comparative advantage, freedom of moving produce and labour, modernisation of production, improved quality, price transparency, the harmonisation of workers rights and conditions, and the development of common exports. These objectives could not immediately be met as the members of the ECSC were all starting from different economic circumstance. It was thus proposed that transitional measures should be employed to compensate for the differences. This was an important test, as it would prove whether separate economies could merge, albeit in just one sector, and function in a way that was beneficial to all. If not, ideas of future economic and political unions would have been quickly thwarted. The success of the ECSC was therefore crucial in promoting the idea of unity in Europe as a viable vision.

Despite the general fall in demand for coal towards the end of the decade, the influx of cheap steel from outside the community and the increasing demand for plastics, the ECSC did enjoy a marked growth in trade. The ECSC had seemed to accelerate Franco-German trade and in doing so confirmed the economic practicality of the 1950s plan. The table below shows the trade between France and Germany in the five years after the Schuman proposals were revealed.

Trade between Germany and France:

Source: Willis, 1965, 235.

By 1955, the ECSC had only been in existence for three years but it had produced the results to prove critics wrong. The ECSC as envisaged by the Schuman plan had succeeded economically, and furthermore the manner in which it had been set up allowed for political bonds to be made too. There were four principles that the community were to follow as laid out by Schuman. These were to form the basis of the first step towards community and they still form the basis today. They are the overarching role of the institutions, the need for community bodies to remain independent, co-operation between the community bodies and member states, and the maintenance of equality between member states. The ECSC was also meant to “coordinate prices, productivity, investments and industrial relations, and decide on the Community’s external tariff and on general competition and cartel policies”.

As the Second World War had been concluded without a peace treaty, there was more pressure to find an alternative way to ensure peace and stability reigned in the future. The incorporation of key principles in the economic union was vital if progression was to be made. All European institutions were to follow the lead of the Schuman plan and so principles such as equality, arbitration and conciliation had to flourish. Monnet quoted the Swiss philosopher Ameil stating that “institutions become wiser: they amass collective behaviour”, and it was this philosophy that inspired international relations to be democratic, banishing domination and nationalism initially under the guidance of the High Authority led by Monnet himself. Also realised by the plan was the need for countries to still be free to act in their nation interest and exercise their own authority. This was aided by the independence of the ECSC politically and financially. Its members were appointed by joint agreement of the governments, funds were raised through the authority’s own resources and the authority was answerable to those it was to serve.  

With the joining of nations widely differing in size, equality was a high priority especially for the smaller countries.  However, it had to be given in a fair manner and in such a way that it protected smaller countries.  For this reason the greatest security for each country was in their “right to say No” and refuse to agree if it was against their interests. The inclusion of these principles in the Schuman plans clearly showed that the economics were merely a way to enforce the political agenda. The political aims as shown by the principles were moral and long-sighted. This might explain why the Christian Democrats were particularly encouraged by it and why it took two years of discussion for the plans to materialise in the form of the ECSC.  

In conclusion, it is evident that the Schuman Plan, mastered by Jean Monnet, had unprecedented success, and laid the foundations where even greater unification of Europe could be built. Franco-German differences had been put aside through economic co-operation, and the joining of the Benelux countries and Italy only strengthened this. Squabbling over rich land such as the “Ruhr”, which had caused so much confrontation pre 1945, soon became a mere memory. Indeed “the Ruhr, once the backbone of German industrial development, became its main problem” according to Laquer as the market for coal became smaller and smaller. The implementation of free trade became very important to the economic unification of the European states. It “eroded the market power of monopolies and cartels, forcing sheltered producers to shape up or lose market share to imports”. The power of free trade became imperative to the making of the EEC. The Schuman Plan was such a success that “the six” went on to sign the Treaty of Rome to form the EEC, and since most of Europe have joined, (under the name of European Union (EU)).

   

Bibliography

Aldcroft, Derek. The European Economy 1914-2000, (London, 1993), Chapter 5.

Fulbrook, Mary. Europe Since 1945, (Oxford, 2001).

Laqueur, Walter. Europe since Hitler, (Middlesex, 1982), Page 212-20.

Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent, (London, 1999), Chapter 6.

Monnet, Jean. Memoirs, (London, 1978), Page 341-392.

Sutcliffe, Anthony. An Economic and Social History of Western Europe Since 1945, (Essex, 1996), Chapter 4.

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