European Coal and Steel Community

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established by the Treaty of Paris, signed on 18 April 1951 and entering into force on 23 July 1952. Its six founding members were France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg — the group later known as the "Inner Six."

The ECSC originated in the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950, drafted largely by Jean Monnet and presented by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman. The proposal sought to place Franco-German production of coal and steel — the raw materials of war — under a common High Authority, making future armed conflict between the two states "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible." It was the first concrete step toward European integration through pooled sovereignty rather than intergovernmental cooperation.

The ECSC created four institutions that became templates for today's EU:

• The High Authority (executive), first presided over by Jean Monnet
• A Common Assembly of national parliamentarians (precursor to the European Parliament)
• A Special Council of Ministers representing member states
• A Court of Justice to adjudicate disputes

The Community established a common market in coal, iron ore, and steel, abolishing internal tariffs and quotas on those goods and regulating prices, production, and state aids. Its success encouraged the same six states to sign the Treaties of Rome in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and Euratom. The 1965 Merger Treaty consolidated the executives of all three Communities.

The ECSC was designed with a 50-year term and formally expired on 23 July 2002, with its assets, liabilities, and remaining competences transferred to the European Community. It is widely regarded as the institutional and ideological starting point of the European Union and a landmark case study in functionalist integration theory.