Fondation Schuman: The Declaration of 9 May 1950
09 May 2022
This is the full text of the proposal, which was presented by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman and which led to the creation of what is now the European Union.
World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it.
The contribution which an organised and living Europe can bring to
civilisation is indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations.
In taking upon herself for more than 20 years the role of champion of a
united Europe, France has always had as her essential aim the service of
peace. A united Europe was not achieved and we had war.
Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It
will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de
facto solidarity. 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.
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, of which they have been the most constant victims.
The solidarity in production thus established will make it plain that
any war between France and Germany becomes not merely unthinkable, but
materially impossible. The setting up of this powerful productive unit,
open to all countries willing to take part and bound ultimately to
provide all the member countries with the basic elements of industrial
production on the same terms, will lay a true foundation for their
economic unification.
This production will be offered to the world as a whole without
distinction or exception, with the aim of contributing to raising living
standards and to promoting peaceful achievements. With increased
resources Europe will be able to pursue the achievement of one of its
essential tasks, namely, the development of the African continent.
In this way, there will be realised simply and speedily that fusion of
interest which is indispensable to the establishment of a common
economic system; it may be the leaven from which may grow a wider and
deeper community between countries long opposed to one another by
sanguinary divisions.
By pooling basic production and by instituting a new High Authority,
whose decisions will bind France, Germany and other member countries,
this proposal will lead to the realisation of the first concrete
foundation of a European federation indispensable to the preservation of
peace.
To promote the realisation of the objectives defined, the French
Government is ready to open negotiations on the following bases :
The task with which this common High Authority will be charged will be
that of securing in the shortest possible time the modernisation of
production and the improvement of its quality; the supply of coal and
steel on identical terms to the French en German markets, as well as to
the markets of other member countries; the development in common of
exports to other countries; the equalisation and improvement of the
living conditions of workers in these industries.
To achieve these objectives, starting from the very different conditions
in which the production of member countries is at present situated, it
is proposed that certain transitional measures should be instituted,
such as the application of a production and investment plan, the
establishment of compensating machinery for equating prices, and the
creation of a restructuring fund to facilitate the rationalisation of
production. The movement of coal and steel between member countries will
immediately be freed from all customs duty, and will not be affected by
differential transport rates. Conditions will gradually be created
which will spontaneously provide for the more rational distribution of
production at the highest level of productivity.
In contrast to international cartels, which tend to impose restrictive
practices on distribution and the exploitation of national markets, and
to maintain high profits, the organisation will ensure the fusion of
markets and the expansion of production....
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