In October 1955, Jean Monnet, outgoing President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), forwards to the key political and trade union figures of the six Member States of the ECSC a letter inviting them to take part in the establishment of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE).

Following Jean Monnet’s proposal to several political and trade union leaders to set up a committee in support of European federal integration, the Action Committee for a United States of Europe is founded on 12 October 1955 in Paris. Although the proposal is particularly aimed at individuals, it also encourages the political and trade union organisations to which they belonge to join the Action Committee.

On 15 October 1955, replying to the questions put by the French daily newspaper Le Monde on the establishment of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), Guy Mollet, French Prime Minister, emphasises the important role that the Socialists intend to play in the revival of European integration.

On 22 October 1955, L’Écho de l’Industrie, the official publication of the Federation of Luxembourg Industrialists (Fedil), comments on the call made by Jean Monnet, former President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), for the establishment of an Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE).

On 18 January 1956, Jean Monnet opens the first meeting of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) with a review of the ongoing negotiations within the Spaak Committee. He outlines the proposals by ACUSE concerning European cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy and raises the question of relations with the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

On 18 January 1956, the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) unanimously adopts a Joint Declaration on the tasks and operating procedures of a European Atomic Energy Commission to be responsible for the development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

On 18 January 1956, the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) adopts a resolution in which it sets out the reasons for the Joint Declaration adopted the same day in Paris and places particular emphasis on the importance of the development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

On 18 January 1956, the first meeting of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe is held in Paris. The Committee was founded by Jean Monnet on 13 October 1955 after he had announced his decision to resign as President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in November 1954. The following were present at this inaugural meeting: Guy Mollet, Secretary-General of the French Section of the Workers’ International (SFIO); the Dutchman, J. A. W. Burger, Leader of the Socialist Parliamentary Group; Italo Viglianesi, Secretary-General of the Italian Labour Union; Heinrich Imig, President of the German Miners’ Union; Walter Freitag, President of the German Federation of Trade Unions; André Renard, Deputy Secretary-General of the Belgian General Federation of Labour (FGTB); the German, Martin Blank, Member of the Liberal Party in the Bundestag and Member of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); the Frenchman, Pierre Garet, Leader of the Independent Republicans in the National Assembly; and Ugo La Malfa, Member of the Italian Republican Party. At the end of this meeting, the Committee adopts its first resolution, in which it welcomes the work being carried out in Brussels by the Intergovernmental Committee established by the Messina Conference and emphasises, in particular, the importance of nuclear energy for the future European Community.

On 25 January 1956, against the background of the Cold War, the Gaullist daily newspaper Combat warns against the risks of an atomic Community in which the European countries would voluntarily abandon the military use of the atom.

On 24 January 1957, Jean Monnet, President of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), sends a letter to Cornelius Wilhelmus van Wingerden, Chairman of the Dutch Trade Union Federation and member of ACUSE, in which he outlines the views of the general public and US leaders regarding the proposed European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

On 27 January 1956, the German weekly newspaper Rheinischer Merkur outlines the efforts undertaken by Jean Monnet, who, through his Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), argues in favour of the establishment of a European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

On 6 March 1956, Jean Monnet, President of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), sends a letter to Hendrik Oosterhuis, Chairman of the Dutch Trade Union Federation and member of ACUSE, in which he gives his initial views on the Spaak Report, with particular regard to the provisions relating to Euratom.

On 19 and 20 September 1956, the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) meets in Paris and adopts a resolution on the progress made towards the peaceful development of atomic energy and towards the establishment of a Common Market.

On 20 September 1956, having taken note of the resolution adopted by the Action Committee for the United States of Europe, French Prime Minister Guy Mollet emphasises how important it is that a European atomic energy organisation (Euratom) is established as soon as possible. France and the other European countries need to work together to give Europe a greater degree of energy independence.

On 8 November 1956, following the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) held in Paris on 20 and 21 October, Jean Monnet, President of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), informs Hendrik Oosterhuis, Chairman of the Dutch Trade Union Federation and member of the Committee, of the positive action taken by the Committee in breaking the deadlock in the negotiations on the establishment of the Common Market and Euratom.

On 9 February 1957, the Action Committee for a United States of Europe publishes a memorandum on the activities of the Committee of the Three Wise Men reponsible for drawing up a list of Europe's nuclear energy requirements and resources.

On 6 and 7 May 1957, members of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) meet at the Hjalmar Branting Institute in Paris in order to discuss the European Common Market and Euratom. In this photo, the following may be seen: Fernand Dehousse, Belgian Socialist Senator and Member of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe; Antoine Pinay, former President of the French Council; Jean Monnet, President of ACUSE; Françoise Schonfeld, Secretary of ACUSE; and Max Kohnstamm, Secretary-General of ACUSE.

In this interview, Henri Rieben, President of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe (Lausanne), recalls the establishment of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) of which he was, from 1955, the first Administrative Secretary.

In this interview, Françoise Schonfeld, one of the three Secretaries to the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) from 1956 to 1975, describes the layout of the offices in Paris occupied by Jean Monnet and his staff.

In this interview, Max Kohnstamm, former Secretary-General and, subsequently, Vice-Chairman of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), recalls the work of Jean Monnet, Chairman of the Committee, and the Committee’s resources and working methods.