From 1950 onwards, Robert Schuman encourages the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). From amongst his reasons for doing so, he singles out the weakness of intergovernmental European organisations such as the Council of Europe.

In his memoirs, Jean Monnet discusses the weakness of the intergovernmental European organisations such as the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and the Council of Europe, and emphasises the need to envisage other structures to promote European unity.

On 6 June 1948, the Belgian newspaper Le Phare Dimanche comments on the figures set out in a report published by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) on the present and future situation of the European economy.

On 4 August 1948, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) sets out in a memorandum the long-term policy that it intends to pursue for the economic recovery of Western Europe, and emphasises the difficulties of this mission.

The members of the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) on 17 February 1949. From left to right (front row): Max Petitpierre (Switzerland), Dr Östen Undén (Sweden), Joseph Bech (Luxembourg), Robert Schuman (France), Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium), Sir Stafford Cripps (United Kingdom) and Count Carlo Sforza (Italy).

This archive film shows the early days of the Council of Europe in 1949 following the Congress of the European Movements held in The Hague in May 1948.

Diagram showing the organisation and operation of the Council of Europe according to the provisions of the Statute of the Council of Europe of 5 May 1949.

Façade of the Council of Europe building in Strasbourg in 1949.

Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, with Maurice Couve de Murville, Director General for Political Affairs at the French Foreign Ministry, at the first meeting of the Council of Europe in 1949.

Robert Schuman (on the right), French Foreign Minister, and his British counterpart, Ernest Bevin (on the left), at the first meeting of the Council of Europe in 1949.

‘The Council of Europe …No forecasts. I declare the first sitting open ... I hereby close the final sitting.' In August 1949, the German satirical magazine Der Tintenfisch speculates on the effectiveness of the new European institution.

Map showing the European countries which, under the Marshall Plan, are offered US material aid for reconstruction, those which accept the aid and those which reject it, and those which, on 16 April 1948, in Paris, decide to establish the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

On 25 August 1949, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit harshly criticises the lack of European conviction evinced in the debates within the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe and supports the FRG's accession to the organisation.

On 5 September 1949, referring to the numerous criticisms directed at the Council of Europe, La Gazette de Lausanne emphasises the role and activities of this newly founded European organisation and speculates on the future of the OEEC.

On 14 September 1949, the German daily newspaper Freie Presse gives a very mixed assessment of the first sitting of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe and speculates on whether it can be effective in taking real action for European unity.

On 24 September 1949, in an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde, Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber speculates on the way in which Europe is being created in economic and political terms.

On 10 August 1949, at the first session of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, Paul-Henri Spaak is elected as the Assembly's first President.

On 19 October 1949, in anticipation of the meeting of US Ambassadors in Paris, the US Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, writes a note in which he sets out the essential elements required to promote European economic integration and emphasises France’s leadership role in this matter.

On 29 October 1949, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the origins of the slow progress in the European unification process and emphasises the difficulties experienced by European countries in balancing their accounts.

On 31 October 1949, at the 75th meeting of the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), Paul Hoffmann, US Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), the body responsible for distributing the funds granted under the Marshall Plan, calls on the countries of Western Europe to work towards greater union and to integrate their economies within a large single European market.

On 2 November 1949, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) adopts a resolution on the liberalisation of trade and payments in order to accelerate the European integration process.

‘The American sledgehammer at work, solving the market problem.’ On 3 November 1949, the Soviet periodical Izvestiya criticises the imperialist policy of the American Paul Hoffman, Director of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) established to administer the financial aid granted under the Marshall Plan for Europe.

On 4 November 1949, given the disappointing results provided by the OEEC in terms of European economic unification, the French daily newspaper Le Monde reports on the forthcoming discussions between the United States, France and the United Kingdom on the future organisation of Europe and the status of Germany.

‘…With varying success. The integration of Europe — Benefritarupogrieslavenganialux.' On 3 December 1949, Opland, Dutch cartoonist, takes an ironic view of the proliferation of customs union plans in Western Europe.

On 20 December 1949, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool speculates on the action of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in favour of European economic integration.

‘Europe — difficult to bring together under one hat.’ On 28 December 1949, cartoonist Mirko Szewczuk illustrates the discouragement of the United States at the increasing number of plans for the economic integration of Western Europe.

On 2 January 1950, given the slow progress of the European unification process, the German daily newspaper Hannoversche Presse reports on the warning made by Paul Hoffman, Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), the body responsible for the distribution of the funds provided under the Marshall Plan, to reduce US aid to the countries of Western Europe.

‘Hoffman's warning: the stream of dollars from ERP aid is set to dry up.' On 3 January 1950, German cartoonist Peter Leger illustrates the warning of Paul Hoffman, Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) — the organisation responsible for distributing the funds provided under the Marshall Plan — who, given the slow progress of European unification, is threatening the countries of Western Europe with a reduction in US aid.

On 18 January 1950, in an address to the Foreign Press Association in Rotterdam, Dirk Stikker, Netherlands Foreign Minister, states that the Netherlands is keen to work towards European integration, and calls on the press to support this effort to establish closer relations between European countries.

At a press conference held on 1 February 1950, Paul Hoffmann, US Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) for the distribution of funds provided under the Marshall Plan, emphasises the important role that the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) needs to play in the process of European economic integration.

In February 1950, in the light of US criticism of the slow progress of the European integration process, Paul-Henri Spaak, President of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, outlines the reasons for certain difficulties and emphasises the importance of intensifying efforts for the establishment of a united Europe.

In February 1950, Léon Blum, former President of the French Council of Ministers and Honorary President of the European Movement, outlines some reasons for the slow progress of the European integration process and emphasises the importance of associating the United Kingdom with the establishment of a united Europe.

In February 1950, responding to US criticism of the slow progress of European integration, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer publishes a message in which he emphasises the efforts made by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) towards establishing economic and political cooperation in Europe.

In February 1950, responding to calls from the European Movement to silence US criticism of the slow progress of European unification, Count Carlo Sforza, Italian Foreign Minister, emphasises the numerous challenges presented by the European integration process and the genuine difficulties involved.

In February 1950, in the light of US criticism at the slow progress of European integration, Georges Villiers, President of the National Council of French Employers (CNPF), outlines the difficulties involved in such a process and emphasises the essential foundations on which the economic integration of Europe must be based.

‘The nanny won’t always be able to stay with you’. On 5 February 1950, US cartoonist Richard Q. Yardley illustrates the impatience of the United States in the light of the slow progress of the European economic unification process.

On 15 February 1950, the British Embassy in Paris drafts a note emphasising the lack of interest among politicians and the general public in France with regard to the Council of Europe.

On 18 February 1950, the British Foreign Office sends a telex to its representation in the United States outlining the criticism voiced in the national press by Paul Hoffman, US Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), concerning the reluctant stance adopted by the British Labour Party and His Majesty’s Government with regard to European economic integration.

‘European shadow play …' On 22 February 1950, German cartoonist Peter Leger illustrates the difficulties involved in the European unification process and highlights the dissensions between the countries of Western Europe in determining a common project for a united Europe.

On 23 February 1950, the British daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian reports on the United States’ disappointment at the answers given by European political leaders with regard to European political and economic integration.

‘Well-mannered people: "Please, after you!"' On 18 March 1950, German cartoonist Peter Leger illustrates the endless prevarications of the countries of Western Europe over the European integration process.

On 28 March 1950, in an internal note, the British Foreign Office analyses the strategy pursued by Paul Hoffman, US Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), with regard to increasing the pace of European economic integration.

On 12 April 1950, Robert M. Hanes, Chief of the Economic Cooperation Administration’s mission for the distribution of funds provided under the Marshall Plan for West Germany, calls on the countries of Western Europe to increase their economic integration in order to create a single market in Europe.

On 13 April 1950, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit describes the difficulties experienced by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe in gaining influence and comments on the opposition between the Council of Europe and the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

‘Vivid portrayal of the many and diverse operations (conferences) undertaken to rescue a ‘Europe' in grave mortal danger — "… no, really, be reasonable — we would have to pay much too high a price for that lifebelt over there! (Only to be used after establishment of a customs, economic and monetary entity — altruism) — In the meantime, take a look at all the wonderful plans that we're putting in place for your rescue — and just hang on in there, Europe!"' In April 1950, the German satirical magazine Der Tintenfisch portrays the growing number of projects designed to come to the rescue of a Europe in the throes of integration.

On 4 May 1950, in the run-up to the meeting in London between the Foreign Ministers of France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Benelux countries, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit comments on the various proposals for cooperation, in particular the French proposal for an Atlantic council for peace.

On 13 May 1950, Paul-Henri Spaak, former Belgian Prime Minister, gives a rather negative assessment of the influence of existing international organisations on the process of European integration.

On 18 October 1950, the French daily newspaper Combat outlines the reasons for the failure on the part of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) to promote genuine European unification.

In his opening address at the inaugural session of the High Authority on 10 August 1952 in Luxembourg, Jean Monnet, first President of the institution, outlines the differences between the supranational institutions of the ECSC and those of the other European organisations.

Chart illustrating the activities of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in 1954.

Robert Mischlich, a close collaborator of Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister, gives a mixed assessment of the action taken by the Council of Europe and the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in favour of the European integration process.

In this interview, Max Kohnstamm, former assistant to Hans Max Hirschfeld, the Netherlands Government Commissioner for the Administration of the Marshall Plan and for German Affairs, recalls the shortcomings of the first post-war European organisations, such as the International Authority for the Ruhr (IAR) and the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).