Schuman Plan presented

© Archiv R. Schummer The French Marianne and the German Michel falling in love (inscriptions: steel, coal)

As was the case at the end of the First World War, the question of future control of German coal and steel production also became a major concern for France after 1945. Since April of 1949 the administration of the Ruhr District is in the hands of the International Ruhr Authority, staffed by representatives from France, Great Britain, the USA and the Benelux nations. In a time characterised by mistrust of the Germans, French foreign minister Robert Schuman surprises many by presenting a plan „to place the entire German-French coal and steel production under a supreme authority within an organisation which other nations of Europe were free to join.“ Only five years after war’s end the idea to include defeated Germany in cooperative structures is revolutionary. The „Schuman Plan“ also contains the idea of transferring portions of national sovereignty to a higher organisation. Beginning on 20 June 1950, France, Italy, the Benelux nations and the Federal Republic of Germany will begin initial discussions on founding a European Coal and Steel Union – the nucleus of the future European Economic Community (EWG).