On 11 May 1950, James E. Webb, Acting US Secretary of State, welcomes the proposal of French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman to create a coal and steel pool, initially through the pooling of the French and German coal and steel industries.

On 26 May 1952, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) sign the Convention on relations between the Three Powers and the FRG, which grants sovereignty to the FRG, with certain restrictions, after the entry into force of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC).

Am 9. Mai 1950 trifft der amerikanische Außenminister Dean Acheson (dritter von links) in Paris mit Georges Bidault (vierter von links) und Robert Schuman (zweiter von rechts) zusammen. Letzterer klärt ihn über den Inhalt seiner Pressekonferenz auf, die die Zusammenlegung der europäischen Kohle-und Stahlindustrien zum Thema hat.

On 26 August 1948, René Massigli, French Ambassador to London, sends a letter to Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, in which he gives an account of the conversations between Clement Attlee, British Labour Prime Minister, and the former Conservative Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, on the proposal for a European Assembly.

In the epilogue to The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, addresses the European leaders following the Brussels European Council held in December 2003, which was unable to reach agreement on the draft Constitutional Treaty.

In this extract from The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, presents the debates surrounding the religious question, and in particular the reference to Christianity in the draft Constitution.

In this extract from The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, compares the submission of the first institutional proposals by the President of the Convention to a gambit in the game of chess.

In this extract from The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, explains why the Convention did not dare to address the question of the European Union’s borders, in particular because of Turkey’s participation in the work of the Convention.

On 24 July 1947, Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, writes a secret detailed note to Georges Bidault, the French Foreign Minister, concerning the implications of the Marshall Plan for French policy on Germany and on Europe.

On 18 April 1948, Jean Monnet informs French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault of the American view of the Marshall Plan and of the progress in negotiations in which he is involved in the United States on the issue of supplying France with food products originating in the USA.