The green pool
The green pool
The green pool
TextThe French plan presented by Pierre Pflimlin
Letter to Georges Bidault from the National Federation of Agricultural Workers’ Trade Unions (1 June 1950)
TextOn 1 June 1950, the National Federation of Agricultural Workers' Trade Unions (FNSEA) asks Georges Bidault, President of the French Council, to extend the European coal and steel project to include agriculture.
Letter from Gabriel Valay to Robert Schuman (6 June 1950)
TextOn 6 June 1950, less than a month after the Schuman Declaration, the French Agriculture Minister, Gabriel Valay, inspired by the pooling of coal and steel resources, submits to Robert Schuman a proposal relating to a common agricultural market in Europe.
Pierre Pflimlin, Mémoires d'un Européen
TextIn his Memoirs, Pierre Pflimlin, former French Agriculture Minister, recalls the objectives which led him to propose to the National Assembly, on 12 June 1950, the Europe-wide organisation of the agricultural market. This plan was later to become known as the ‘green pool’.
Statement by Pierre Pflimlin on moves towards organising the major agricultural markets on a Europe-wide basis (15 June 1950)
TextOn 15 June 1950, Pierre Pflimlin, French Minister of Agriculture, calls on the French Government as a body to take the initiative to propose to its Western European partners that the major agricultural markets be organised on a Europe-wide basis.
Statement by Pierre Pflimlin on the organisation of the major agricultural markets on a Europe-wide basis (Paris, 11 August 1950)
TextOn 11 August 1950, Pierre Pflimlin, French Minister of Agriculture, informs Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, that he wishes to inform his colleagues in the Council of Ministers on 22 August about his plan to establish a European agricultural market.
Telegram from Jean Monnet to Pierre Pflimlin (19 August 1950)
TextOn 19 August 1950, Jean Monnet sends a telegram to Pierre Pflimlin, Agriculture Minister in the Pleven Government, warning him of the dangers of an ill-prepared initiative with regard to the plan to create a common market for agricultural markets in Europe.
Pierre de Félice, Towards the agricultural pool
TextIn January 1951, in the journal Notre Europe, Pierre de Félice, Senator for the Loiret region and French delegate to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, calls for the establishment of a European agricultural pool.
Letter from Jean Monnet to Pierre Pflimlin (12 February 1951)
TextIn this Note sent to Pierre Pflimlin, French Agriculture Minister, on 12 February 1951, Jean Monnet describes the supranational character that he would like to see applied to the plan for a ‘green pool’.
Minutes of the interministerial meeting of 28 May 1951
TextOn 28 May 1951, Jos Olinger, Agricultural Attaché to the Luxembourg Embassy in Brussels, provides the Grand Duchy’s Foreign Ministry with an account of the ideas put forward by Belgian experts during a joint working conference on the French plan for a ‘green pool’.
Pierre Pflimlin
BildOn 5 September 1950, Pierre Pflimlin, French Agriculture Minister, suggests to his government colleagues that a common agricultural market be established. They subsequently carry out studies on the pooling of the production of wheat, sugar, butter and wine in Europe.
Pierre Pflimlin
PassThe Dutch plan presented by Sicco Mansholt
Note from Sicco Mansholt regarding the organisation of agricultural markets in Europe (The Hague, 6 November 1950)
TextOn 6 November 1950, Sicco Mansholt, Dutch Agriculture Minister, sends a note to his Luxembourg counterpart, François Simon, outlining the objectives of the implementation of a Europe-wide organisation of agricultural markets.
Sicco Mansholt
BildIn November 1950, the Dutch Agriculture Minister, Sicco Mansholt, proposes to the States taking part in the Schuman Plan negotiations that a common market for agricultural products be established.
Comparison between the Pflimlin Plan and the Mansholt Plan.
TabelleTable comparing the French and the Dutch governmental projects for the organisation of agricultural markets in Europe (the Pflimlin Plan and the Mansholt Plan, respectively).
Address given by Sicco Mansholt (16 July 1952)
TextOn 16 July 1952, as the National Consultative Committee for the Integration of European Agriculture is established, Sicco Mansholt, Netherlands Foreign Minister, gives an address in which he advocates the idea of a unification of the European agricultural industries.
Address given by Stephan Louwe Louwes (16 July 1952)
TextOn 16 July 1952, the Chairman of the National Consultative Committee for the Integration of European Agriculture, Stephan Louwe Louwes, emphasises the efforts made by European countries and agricultural trade unions to develop a common agricultural community.
Letter from Sicco Mansholt to Stephan Louwe Louwes (26 August 1952)
TextOn 26 August 1952, Sicco Mansholt, Netherlands Minister for Agriculture, sends a letter to Stephan Louwe Louwes, Chairman of the National Consultative Committee for the Integration of European Agriculture, in which he speculates on the geographical limits of a possible European Agricultural Community.
Considerations of the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs on the integration of European agriculture (11 March 1955)
TextOn 11 March 1955, the Department of Economic Information in the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs outlines in a report the efforts undertaken for the integration of European agriculture.
The Paris conferences
Letter to Robert Schuman from the French Ambassador in Copenhagen (13 April 1951)
TextOn 13 April 1951, the French Ambassador in Copenhagen writes a letter to Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, in which he sets out the attitude of the Danish authorities towards European plans for the organisation of agricultural markets.
Memorandum from the French Delegation (25 March 1952)
TextOn 25 March 1952, the French Government submits to its European partners, meeting in Paris, a memorandum in favour of a European agricultural community.
Note from the French Government on agricultural integration in Europe (Paris, 25 March 1952)
TextOn 25 March 1952, the French Government submits to its European partners, meeting in Paris for a European agricultural conference, a note emphasising its determination to support agricultural integration in Europe.
Speech by Pierre Pflimlin (Paris, 25 March 1952)
TextOn 25 March 1952, Pierre Pflimlin, French Minister for overseas territories, reveals to delegates of the Member States of the Council of Europe, meeting at Quai d'Orsay for an agriculture conference, the importance which his Government places on agricultural integration in Europe.
Speech by Sicco Mansholt (Paris, 25 March 1952)
TextOn 25 March 1952, Sicco Mansholt, Netherlands Agriculture Minister, reveals to delegates of the Member States of the Council of Europe, meeting in Paris for a European agriculture conference, the importance which his Government places on European agricultural integration.
Summary record of the debates at the ministerial conference on the organisation of the agricultural markets (Paris, 25–28 March 1952)
TextOn 25 March 1952, the French Government convenes a three-day conference attended by representatives of 15 countries of Western Europe in order to discuss the organisation of Europe in the agricultural field. Following this meeting, the Netherlands Government authorities draw up a summary record on the content of the debates.
The Paris conferences
Statement by Theodor Sonnemann on the conditions for a European agricultural union (June 1952)
TextIn June 1952, three months after a preparatory meeting of several Council of Europe Member States, Theodor Sonnemann, West German Secretary of State for Agriculture, gives an overview of the problems related to the setting up of a European agricultural union.
Address given by Jacob Jan van der Lee (July 1952)
TextIn July 1952, after the European Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets held in Paris, Jacob Jan van der Lee, Head of the International Organisations Department in the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, outlines the tasks of the Interim Working Party.
Opinion from the French Economic Council (Paris, 21 October 1952)
TextOn 21 October 1952, the French Economic Council publishes an opinion on the future organisation of the agricultural markets in Western Europe and calls for the creation of a European community for agriculture and food.
Report presented by Philippe Lamour on behalf of the French Economic Council on the plan for a European community for agriculture and food (22 October 1952)
TextOn 22 October 1952, Philippe Lamour, a senior French official for regional development, presents a report on the plan for a European community for agriculture and food.
Note from Luxembourg diplomatic circles on the green plan (Luxembourg, 18 February 1953)
TextOn 18 February 1953, a note from Luxembourg diplomatic circles provides details of the debates in the interim working group appointed by the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) on the agricultural and food products that may be affected by a future European agricultural community. The note also outlines the position of the countries that took part in the meeting in March 1952 in Paris on whether or not a supranational High Authority should be set up to oversee the green pool.
Conference on the green pool (Paris, 20 March 1953)
BildIn March 1953, prior to the opening of the European Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, the Italian Minister of the Interior, Amintore Fanfani (left), talks with the British Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Anthony Nutting (centre), and the French Foreign Minister, Georges Bidault (right).
Statement by Sicco Mansholt (Paris, 20 March 1953)
TextOn 20 March 1953, at the European Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets in Paris, the Dutch Minister for Agriculture gives an address on the issues surrounding the unification of the agricultural markets in Europe.
Resolution of the Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets (Paris, 20 March 1953)
TextOn 20 March 1953, the countries participating in the European Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets adopt a resolution emphasising the importance of establishing the necessary structures for the organisation and unification of the agricultural markets in Europe.
Summary record of the debates at the ministerial conference on the organisation of the agricultural markets (Paris, 16–21 March 1953)
TextOn 26 March 1953, the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture drafts a summary record giving details of the European Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets held in Paris.
Radio broadcast by Jacob Jan van der Lee (30 March 1953)
TextOn 30 March 1953, after the European Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets held in Paris, Jacob Jan van der Lee, Head of the International Organisations Department in the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, emphasises the importance of agricultural integration in Europe.
Working programme of the Interim Committee (30 April 1953)
TextOn 30 April 1953, shortly after the European Conference on the Organisation of Agricultural Markets, the Interim Committee establishes its working programme regarding the methods for the organisation and unification of the agricultural markets.
Note from Sicco Mansholt on agricultural integration (The Hague, 6 October 1953)
TextOn 6 October 1953, the Netherlands Minister for Agriculture, Sicco Mansholt, sends a note to his national parliament in which he outlines the progress made in the negotiations on European agricultural integration.
Interview with Helmut von Vershuer: the green pool and the Paris conferences (Paris, 25 May 2009)
VideoIn this interview, Helmut von Verschuer, civil servant in the German Ministry of Agriculture from 1952 to 1958, summarises the German Government’s objectives for the Paris conferences of 1952 on the establishment of a common agricultural policy between the Six, and explains the impact of these ‘green pool’ negotiations on the subsequent introduction of the common agricultural policy (CAP).
The debates
Report on the European Agricultural Authority (2 January 1951)
TextOn 2 January 1951, the French delegate, René Charpentier, presents a confidential, provisional report on the European Agricultural Authority to the Registrar of the Special Committee on Agriculture of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Address by Johannes Linthorst Homan on Benelux agriculture and Western European agriculture (Rotterdam, 13 April 1951)
TextOn 13 April 1951, at the Fifth Benelux Economic Congress in Rotterdam, Johannes Linthorst Homan, who would subsequently become director of European integration in the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs from 1952 to 1958, gives an address on agriculture in the Benelux and speculates on the future of agriculture for Western Europe. He looks at the state of European cooperation on agriculture and engages in a discussion with Maurice Piette from the Belgian Agricultural Alliance on a possible future organisation for European agriculture.
Report regarding the unification of the European agricultural markets and the establishment of a European Agricultural Authority (5 May 1951)
TextOn 5 May 1951, the French delegate, René Charpentier, presents to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe his report on the establishment of a supranational agricultural authority in Europe. The Assembly decides to hold over consideration of this report to its autumn session.
Debates in the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe (November-December 1951)
TextOn 1 December 1951, the Members of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe examine the reports presented on 5 May 1951 by René Charpentier and by David Eccles on the organisation of Europe's agricultural markets. The plan put forward by Eccles, the British delegate, is considered too intergovernmental and is, therefore, rejected by a majority of the Assembly.
Address given by Johannes Linthorst Homan (Assen, 31 May 1952)
TextOn 31 May 1952, Johannes Linthorst Homan, Director of European Integration in the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs from 1952 to 1958, gives an address in which he emphasises the need for European cooperation in the field of agriculture.
Memorandum from the Secretariat of the Council of Europe on the unification of European agricultural markets (19 March 1954)
TextOn 19 March 1954, the Secretariat of the Council of Europe forwards to the Committee of Ministers a detailed memorandum on the efforts made since the end of the Second World War to unify European agricultural markets.
The green pool and the farmers' unions
Resolutions of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (4–6 September 1951)
TextFrom 4 to 6 September 1951, the European Economic Recovery Committee of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers adopts four resolutions on the organisation of agricultural sectors in Europe.
Resolution of the Confederation of European Agriculture (27 September 1951)
TextOn 27 September 1951, the Confederation of European Agriculture adopts a resolution on the issues involved in organising the European agricultural markets and the means by which this might be achieved.
Resolution of the European agricultural federations and trade unions (10 March 1952)
TextMeeting in Paris on 10 March 1952, professionals involved in trade in agricultural products and trade unions from the European agricultural sector adopt a joint resolution on the issues surrounding the establishment of a European agricultural market.
Resolution of the International Landworkers' Federation (29 May 1952)
TextOn 29 May 1952, the International Landworkers’ Federation, meeting in Salzburg in Austria, adopts a resolution that emphasises the importance of involving agricultural trade unions in the development of a European agricultural market.
Press coverage of the green pool
‘The Mansholt Plan’ from Het Vrije Volk (4 October 1950)
TextOn 4 October 1950, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk speculates on the prospects for the establishment of a common agricultural market in Europe.
‘From the black pool to the green pool’ from La renaissance agricole
TextIn the early 1950s, the French journal La renaissance agricole publishes a pamphlet that spells out the dangers of a common agricultural market in Europe.
Press coverage of the green pool
‘Agrarian integration’, from Het Parool
TextOn 20 March 1952, in the run-up to the European Agricultural Conference in Paris, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool describes the difficulties associated with the establishment of a European agricultural community.
'Green Union?' from Handelsblatt (2 April 1952)
TextOn 2 April 1952, the German economic daily newspaper Handelsblatt criticises the plan for a Green Pool as envisaged by the European authorities.
'The green pool', from Corriere della Sera (11 August 1952)
TextOn 11 August 1952, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera considers the economic implications of the green pool plan for the agricultural sector of Western Europe.
‘Interview with Charles Héger, Minister for Agriculture’ from La Libre Belgique (18 January 1953)
TextOn 18 January 1953, in an article published in the daily newspaper La Libre Belgique, Charles Héger, Belgian Agriculture Minister, discusses the chances of success for the common agricultural market and the proposed European green pool.
'The difficulties with the green pool', from Le Figaro (10 August 1954)
TextOn 10 August 1954, in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, rural economist Pierre Fromont, a member of the French Academy for Agriculture and an opponent of any form of European control over the agricultural sector, considers the difficulties involved in establishing a European agricultural system.