The Main Driving Forces Behind the Supranational Integration of the Schuman Plan
Many consider Jean Monnet to be the founder of European unity. Born in
Cognac in 1888 he became an established coordinator in international
affairs during the two world wars. Yet it is the invention of the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) for which he is best
recognized. This was the first economic community to be set up in
Europe, and was announced in 1950 by Robert Schuman, the French
Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time. It became known as the
Schuman Declaration, and proposed the pooling of French and German
resources of coal and steel under a ‘High Authority’, i.e.
supranational integration on an economic basis. Dell believes that the
plan was promoted as a first step towards a federal Europe[1].
Although it was really instigated by the French, there were four key
players in the run up to the ECSC.
France, Britain, the United States and Germany had been directly
involved in the cataclysmic world wars of the twentieth century and
had to deal with the aftermath. The Second World War was ‘the most
destructive conflict in human history… it caused the deaths of almost
60 million people[2]. Britain had been one of the chief powers in the
Second World War, having declared war on Germany in 1939 with France.
However after 1945 the continental countries of Europe were left in a
state of devastation, whereas Britain did not suffer the consequences
of the war in the same way. She was separated from the rest of Europe
by water and despite suffering intense air raids; was never occupied
by German troops. In fact, a German soldier had not even set foo...
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...] A. Carls et al, ‘"Functionalism" and "Federalism" in the European
Union’, The Centre for Public Justice,
http://www.cpjustice.org/stories/storyReader$724, 2002.
[8] I. McLean et al, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, second
edition, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, p.194.
[9] E. Haas, The Uniting of Europe, London: Stevens and Sons Limited,
1958, p.455.
[10] ‘The Schumanplan Declaration’, Leiden University Historical
Institute,
http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/rtg/res1/declaration.html,
01/03/2004.
[11] Arter, op. cite., p. 122.
[12] Dedman, op. cite., p. 63.
[13] Dell, op. cite., p.16.
[14] Europa Gateway to the EU,
http://europa.eu.int/ecsc/results/index_en.htm, 14/05/05.
[15] D. Urwin, Western Europe since 1945, fourth edition, London:
Longman Inc., 1989, p. 105.
knowing that she needed to do something to support her child. After the war, she
Finally, she was became less dumb on her judgements of other people. She thought in very black and white terms. Today, she pays a lot closer attention to what their officials were did.
France to her untimely death at the end of a guillotine. Marie Antoinette was the fifteenth child
... The Portuguese changed her name to Romana, and she later went back to Africa (Nigeria) and acts as though she is a European. She then becomes very involved in legitimate commerce and that whole movement. It is ironic that she changed so dramatically and it could have perhaps stemmed from fear of what she thought may happen to her.
forced to live in and start a new one where her people could be respected. This was her heritage.
During her life event, her family journey to the America for reason of setting up of the
had to carry on working the family farm by herself. With the death of his
many men were involved in the war, women finally had their chance to take on many of
...and the responsibility to be just as patriotic and dedicated as any other. When the war ended and the men returned, women weren’t required for the occupations, and this stirred a yearning in women to be once again sovereign, and perhaps the time set a scene for a path to complete gender integration and a women’s rights movement.
was after four years of a war in which women had played a much larger
brigades and signed up to be nurses. This war forced woman of both sides into the public life.
Once the war was over, it was safe enough for her to travel. The reason why she traveled
Hana is born in Canada, far removed from the war-torn Europe that will someday ruin
camps due to her sexual preference. All in order to control the lives of every
withdrew from the war in 1797 which left Britain the only country fighting in France.