On 9 May 1950, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, informs the British Ambassador to Paris of the existence of a possible French proposal concerning the creation of a European coal and steel pool.

On 10 May 1950, at a meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, leading British ministers comment on the declaration made the previous day by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, and criticise the French initiative to create a coal and steel pool in Europe.

On 10 May 1950, the British daily newspaper Daily Herald devotes its front page to the declaration made the previous day in Paris by Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, in which he proposed the pooling of coal and steel output in Europe.

On 11 May 1950, Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick, British High Commissioner in Germany, sends a memorandum to the British Foreign Office in which he outlines the political scope of the Schuman Plan.

On 11 May 1950, various British ministries draft a joint note for the attention of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet in which they analyse the possible economic repercussions of the implementation of the Schuman Plan and outline the origins of the French proposal.

On 11 May 1950, the British Ministry of Defence drafts several notes on the strategic implications of the Schuman Plan, particularly in terms of control of the coal and steel industries in Europe and arms production.

On 11 May 1950, two days after the Schuman Declaration, British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman and US Secretary of State Dean Acheson meet in London, where Ernest Bevin, unhappy at having been presented with a fait accompli, expresses his grievances to his French counterpart.

On 11 May 1950, in a statement to the House of Commons, the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, expresses his thoughts on the Schuman Plan and confirms his support for the French proposal.

On 12 May 1950, British newspaper the Daily Telegraph highlights the difficulties involved in the implementation of the Schuman Plan and emphasises the economic and political factors of the French plan.

On 12 May 1950, referring to the Scottish tradition whereby couples go to blacksmiths’ forges in Gretna Green to exchange their wedding vows over the blacksmith’s anvil, the British cartoonist, David Low, illustrates the surprised reaction of Dean Acheson, US Secretary of State, following the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950.

On 17 May 1950, the National Coal Board, the statutory corporation for the British coal industry, gives its first impressions of the issues surrounding the Schuman Plan and analyses the possible repercussions for the national coal industry.

On 17 May 1950, cartoonist Low takes an ironic look at the difficult position of the United Kingdom with respect to the French plan to pool steel and coal production in Western Europe.

On 17 May 1950, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates Robert Schuman’s historic proposal to pool coal and steel production in Western Europe and emphasises the importance of Franco-German rapprochement.

On 19 May 1950, Oliver Harvey, British Ambassador to Paris, writes to Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, to outline the possible political consequences of an acceptance or rejection of the Schuman Plan by the United Kingdom.

On 19 May 1950, the English diplomat, Sir Roger Makins, sends a note to Ernest Bevin in which he advises the British Foreign Secretary to adopt a wait-and-see approach to the Schuman Plan.

On 19 May 1950, in Edinburgh, Winston Churchill says that he would like to have access to a detailed study of the consequences of any future British participation in the Schuman Plan before expressing a final opinion on the French initiative.

On 19 May 1950, the British weekly Tribune emphasises the importance of British participation in implementing the European plan for the pooling of coal and steel production in Western Europe.

On 20 May 1950, the Press Service of the British Embassy in The Hague drafts an information note giving details of the situation of the steel and coal sectors in the United Kingdom in the light of the Schuman Plan.

On 22 May 1950, in the British daily newspaper The Times, the British Committee of the European League for Economic Cooperation (ELEC) launches an appeal for the United Kingdom’s active involvement in the implementation of the Schuman Plan.

On 25 May 1950, in connection with the implementation of the Schuman Plan, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, rejects the idea of an international conference and suggests to his French counterpart, Robert Schuman, the opening of direct negotiations between France and Germany in which the United Kingdom might participate.

On 25 May 1950, the French Government invites the United Kingdom to take part in the negotiations for the establishment of a European coal and steel pool.

On 26 May 1950, the British Embassy in Paris sends a message to the French Government describing the United Kingdom’s hesitations with regard to the Schuman Plan.

On 30 May 1950, in order to dispel any misunderstanding between France and the United Kingdom over the fundamental objectives of the Schuman Plan, the French government sends a memorandum to the British government setting out the main inspiration for the planned coal and steel pool, while emphasising the scope of the proposed bases for negotiation.

On 30 May 1950, in an article in the British daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian, philosopher Raymond Aron considers the origins of the Schuman Plan and speculates on the chances of success of the French initiative.

On 30 May 1950, British daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian reports on the United Kingdom’s position on the Schuman Plan.

‘Bevin: First of all, let’s see what you’re preparing for us!’ On 30 May 1950, the German cartoonist Beuth illustrates the caution of the United Kingdom regarding the Schuman Plan to pool the European production of coal and steel. From left to right: Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, Konrad Adenauer, Federal Chancellor, and Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister.

On 31 May 1950, Oliver Harvey, British Ambassador to Paris, sends a telegram to Kenneth Younger, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, in which he outlines the differing views held by the French government and the British government authorities concerning the plan for a coal and steel pool.

In May 1950, the National Executive Committee of the British Labour Party publishes a manifesto entitled European Unity in which it sets out the official British position on the question of European unity.

On 2 June 1950, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, hospitalised in the London Clinic, considers with his close colleagues the possibility of the United Kingdom’s non-participation in the negotiations on the implementation of the Schuman Plan.

On 3 June 1950, the British Government publishes a communiqué setting out its position on the Schuman Declaration on the pooling of coal and steel output in Western Europe.

On 3 and 5 June 1950, the British Embassy in the Netherlands outlines the United Kingdom’s attitude to the Schuman Plan in a press review.

On 4 June 1950, the British Sunday newspaper The Observer publishes an article by ‘a student of Europe’ which identifies the flaws in the Schuman Plan, deploring, in particular, the powers of the future High Authority.

On 14 June 1950, René Massigli, French Ambassador to London, writes to Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, to outline the exact position of British Prime Minister Clement Attlee on the plan for a coal and steel pool.

On 17 June 1950, the English weekly magazine The New Statesman and Nation reports on the British position towards the French plan for the pooling of coal and steel production in Western Europe.

In July 1950, the British periodical The Banker outlines the scope of the Schuman Plan and describes the likely impact of the plan on the UK’s industrial sector.

On 10 and 11 May, 1970, in an interview granted to journalist Georges Suffert, Jean Monnet, former Commissioner-General at the French National Planning Board, describes the United Kingdom’s reaction to the Schuman Plan.