Robert Schuman --> laid bases for European Union in on 9 may 1950
Ruud Lubbers (Dutch Prime Minister; december 1991)
- proposed package deal regarding old and new institutions of the EU
- seat-issue (which city will house the EP?)
Summit in Maastricht --> step towards a federal Europe
--> single currency, European citizenship, common foreign and security
policy
--> accepted on 10 december 1991
Wilfried Martens:
- strong pro-European
- believed Maastricht Treaty fell short by not addressing political union
- supported Lubbers as fellow Christen Democrat; opposed Brussels as
capital
Jean-Luc Dehaene --> agreement that both Brussels and Strasbourg will host
EP
Three lenses to understand European Integration:
1) treaties as the legal foundation
a. Treaty of Paris (1952), established European Coal and Steel
Commun. (ECSC)
b. EU remains international organization rather than a state
2) geographic expansion
a. from 6 Member States to 27
b. war in Ukraine (2022-) --> countries aspiring to become candidate
members
3) crises as catalysts for integration
a. e.g. Common Agricultural Policy --> Member States recognize their
inability to manage certain issues independently
= “falling forward”
Female participation:
- e.g. Thatcher (UK Prime Minister) & Merkel (German Chancellor)
- first directly elected EP appointed Simone Veil as its president
- European Commission --> 13W, 14M (Von Der Leyen as president)
Western and Eastern European Dynamics:
- 5/6 founding members are entirely located in Western Europe
- e.g. Hungarian uprising in 1956, civil war in Yugoslavia, Russian
annexation of Crime, ... have influenced formation of European project
Colonial legacy:
, - promoted “cooperation” for peace, but involved in committing atrocities in
their colonies
- Schuman Declaration --> economic integration must help development of
Africa
C1: WHY IS THERE NO
EUROPEAN ARMY YET?
Paul-Henri Spaak:
- Belgian PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs
- not eager to join NATO + lacklustre regarding economic help of the USA
- conclusion: he must choose a side between USA and USSR
- speech: “nous avons peur...”
30/9/1938 --> Munich Agreement
- GB and France let Germany take Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to
avoid war
- British PM Neville Chamberlain --> agreement has secured “peace for our
time”
1939 --> Germany invaded Poland + Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Germany
and USSR
1940 --> Blitzkrieg in Western Europe (conquering of France, Belgium &
Netherlands)
June 1941 --> Operation Barbarossa (invasion of USSR)
June 6 1944 --> D-Day (entry of US and GB in Western Europe)
1945 --> surrender of Germany (USSR: focus on securing Soviet influence over
Eastern Europe)
1.1 The Cold War
October 1943 --> Moscow Conference
- ministers of Foreign Affairs of USA, USSR, UK + Chinese ambassador
- need for new international organisation
- idea of establishment of the UN
February 1945 --> Yalta Conference
--> Stalin, FDR & Churchill gather to discuss the spheres of influence
regarding the organisation of post-war Germany & broader Europe
25 april 1945 --> establishment of UN (850 representatives from 50 countries
meet for this)
- UN Security Council: China, France, UK, USSR & USA
--> 5 permanent members with veto rights (+ 6 rotating non-permanent
,members)
--> changed to 10 members in 1965
End of WW2 --> seeds of Cold War
- Stalin distrusted UK and USA for not opening second western front
- communist parties did well in the West (e.g. Belgium)
- annexation of Baltic states & part of Finland + taking part in Greek civil
war
- (ab)use of the veto-power in the UN
April 1949 --> forming of NATO
- Harry Truman + 11 ministers of Foreign Policy (Treaty of Washington)
- aggression against one member = attack on all members
- first signatories: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, UK, USA
- 1951: Turkey & Greece (USSR feels surrounded by USA and its allies)
1955 --> Warsaw Pact
- USSR + Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany, Hungary, Poland &
Czechoslov.
- counter-NATO alliance with own collective defence system
- Iron Curtain (boundary that divided East- & West-Europe)
1.2 Pan-Europa
After WWI --> initiatives to establlish a more peaceful Europe
- cultural: idea of European unification before rise of nationalism
- political: conviction that nation alone is under-equipped
--> Jose Ortega y Gasset in ‘The Revolt of the Masses (1930)
- economic: Europe needs to remain competitive with USSR & USA
1923 --> Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi
- launches pan-European movement in
- economic cooperation in coal & mining industries
1928 --> Briant-Kellogg pact
- attempt to bind whole world to choose peaceful solutions
1.3 French-German rapprochement
Relationship between France & Germany --> delicate after WWII
--> Christian Democratic politicians convene on neutral territory in Geneva
--> Genfer Kreis: facilitated early diplomatic exchanges for European
integration
- Adenauer, CD-parties & Schuman’s fellow party members
--> 1947: the federalist Nouvelles Equipes Internationales
, Transnational political movements were forming
--> Liberal International & Mouvement Socialiste
Winston Churchill:
- British PM; strongly supported closer European cooperation
- 1946: speech in Zurich: proposed “US of Europe” to prevent future wars
- advocated for reconciliation between France & Germany (no major role
for UK)
Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967):
- catholic politician during Weimar Republic; opponent of Nazi regime
- fouding father of the Federal Republic of Germany
- 1946: chairman of the CDU; 1949: elected as first chancellor of West-
Germany
- Wirstschaftswunder --> foundation for socially responsible market
- aimed to integrate West-Germany into Western community
- remaind in power until 1963, earning the nickname “Der Alte”
1.4 Benelux as an example
- september 1944: Bretton Woods Conference --> establishment of
Benelux
--> inspired by Belgium-Luxembour Economic Union (BLEU) of 1921
- 1932: agreement of Ouchy --> BLEU and Netherlands aimed at
economic cooperation addressing disadvantages for small countries
(failed)
- 1948: Benelux Treaty (customs union)
- 1958: evolved into economic union
- attempt to draw in France & Italy (Fritalux)
- autonomous institutions + introduced elements like monetary union & free
movement
Jean-Charles Snoy et d’Oppuers (1907-1991):
- signed Treaties of Rome for Belgium, together with Spaak & Rothschild in
1957
- became first Permanent Representative of Belgium to the EEC
Benelux today:
- Treaty was renewed in 2008 (name change to Benelux Union)
- reduced number of institutions
- promise of political integration was never realized
1.5 Marshall Plan