Pierre Werner and the European integration process: from the Schuman Plan to the Fontainebleau Summit

Foreword


The subject file ‘Pierre Werner and the European integration process: from the Schuman Plan to the Fontainebleau Summit’ is dedicated to the European vocation and achievements of Pierre Werner (29 December 1913–24 June 2002), a former Prime Minister (1959–1974 and 1979–1984), Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Luxembourg. The file particularly focuses on the European dimension of Pierre Werner’s career from his arrival on the political stage in the 1950s until 1984, when he chose to withdraw from the government.


Based on an exploration of the Werner family archives, which have been opened for the first time for research purposes, and also on other relevant archives — both Luxembourgish and international, public and private — containing multimedia material in several languages, this subject file throws light on the major milestones in European integration.


More than 300 documents illustrate the various European achievements in which the former Luxembourg Prime Minister was directly involved, including the merging of the executive bodies, the ‘battle of the seats’, the decision to award Luxembourg the status of ‘permanent capital’ of the European Communities (1965), the ‘Luxembourg Compromise’ (1966), the Werner Report (1970) and, in a broader sense, Luxembourg’s role in the European integration process. This subject file also contains a biographical section about Pierre Werner.


Publication of the file was subject to a peer review procedure by a committee composed of the following experts:

  • René Leboutte — Professor in Contemporary History and holder of the ad personam Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration History at the University of Luxembourg;

  • Ivo Maes — Senior Adviser for Historical Studies in the Research Department at the National Bank of Belgium and Professor and holder of the Robert Triffin Chair at the Institute of European Studies of the Université catholique de Louvain;

  • Sylvain Schirmann — Professor at the University of Strasbourg, holder of a Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration History and Director of the Institute of Political Studies at the University of Strasbourg.


The subject file has been published following the approval of the committee.


Consult in PDF format