The Monnet Plan
The Monnet Plan
The Monnet Plan
TextJean Monnet's ideas
Jean Monnet’s thoughts on the future (Algiers, 5 August 1943)
TextDuring the Second World War, Jean Monnet, a member of the French Committee for National Liberation in Algiers, reflects on how to restore lasting peace and ensure the economic reconstruction of Europe once the war is over.
Jean Monnet in front of the Lycée Fromentin in Algiers (1943)
ImageJean Monnet in front of the Lycée Fromentin, seat of the Provisional Government of the French Republic in Algiers in 1943.
Jean Monnet
ImageFrom 1950, the Frenchman Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, played an active role in the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), serving as President of the ECSC High Authority in Luxembourg from 1952 to 1955.
Letter from Jean Monnet to Robert Schuman (18 April 1948)
TextDuring a visit to the United States in April 1948, Jean Monnet sends a letter to Robert Schuman in which he confirms the United States' desire to help with the reconstruction of Western Europe in order to curb Soviet expansion.
Jean Monnet, Mémoires: extrait sur l'idée d'un pool charbon-acier européen
TextLe dimanche 16 avril 1950, Jean Monnet retrouve Paul Reuter et Etienne Hirsch à Montfort-l'Amaury, près de Paris. Ensemble, ils précisent l'idée d'un pool charbon-acier européen et rédigent un premier texte. Vingt-cinq ans plus tard, Jean Monnet se souvient avec précision de cette journée.
Jean Monnet and his close colleagues
ImageJean Monnet and his close colleagues who were involved in the drafting of the Schuman Plan. In the background from left to right: Étienne Hirsch (standing), Pierre Uri, Jean Monnet and Jean Ripert.
Discussion paper by Jean Monnet (3 May 1950)
TextOn 3 May 1950, Jean Monnet drafts a discussion paper on the need for France to initiate cooperation between the countries of Europe.
Address given by Jean Monnet to the Council of the Allied High Command (23 May 1950)
TextOn 23 May 1950, in Bonn, Jean Monnet outlines to members of the Council of the Allied High Command the origins and the political and economic scope of the Schuman Plan.
Note by Jean Monnet on the German question (22 September 1950)
TextOn 22 September 1950, Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, speculates on the methods for organising the European continent whilst providing a suitable response to the question of the economic, political and military reconstruction of West Germany.
Harry S. Truman with John J. McCloy and Dean Acheson (Washington, 23 January 1950)
ImageAs US High Commissioner in Germany from 1949 to 1952, John McCloy gives considerable support to the Schuman Plan. From left to right: Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, John McCloy and Dean Acheson, US Secretary of State, in discussion at the White House on 23 January 1950.
Interview with Jean Monnet: the origins of the Schuman Plan (RTL, 22 January 1972)
Audio extractOn 22 January 1972, in an interview for RTL radio in Paris, Jean Monnet refers to the origins of the Schuman Plan.
Interview with Jean Monnet: the background to his European commitment (RTL, 22 January 1972)
Audio extractIn this interview granted to RTL radio journalists in Paris on 22 January 1972, Jean Monnet discusses his career and outlines the evolution of his commitment to Europe, which began in the interwar period.
Interview with Bernard Clappier: extracts on the origins of the Schuman Plan and the role of Jean Monnet (11 November 1980)
TextOn 11 November 1980, in an interview granted to journalist Roger Massip, Bernard Clappier, former Head of the Private Office of French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, describes the circumstances in which the Schuman Plan was prepared in 1950 and outlines the role played by Jean Monnet.
Jean Monnet
PassportInterview by Georges Suffert with Jean Monnet: extract on preparations for the planned coal and steel pool and on Monnet’s working method (10 and 11 May 1970)
TextOn 10 and 11 May 1970, in an interview given to journalist Georges Suffert, Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board in 1950, describes how the French plan for a coal and steel pool was developed and outlines his working method.
Interview with Jacques-René Rabier: the personality of Jean Monnet (Luxembourg, 8 February 2002)
VideoJacques-René Rabier, Head of Jean Monnet's Private Office at the French National Planning Board from 1947 to 1952, describes Jean Monnet's personality and the way in which he worked.
Interview with Jacques-René Rabier: Jean Monnet’s working methods (Luxembourg, 8 February 2002)
VideoJacques-René Rabier, Head of Jean Monnet's Private Office at the French National Planning Board from 1947 to 1952, describes Jean Monnet's pro-European convictions from their origins to the drafting of the Schuman Plan.
Interview with Jacques-René Rabier: the origins of Jean Monnet’s convictions regarding European integration (Luxembourg, 8 February 2002)
VideoJacques-René Rabier, Head of Jean Monnet's Private Office at the French National Planning Board from 1947 to 1952, describes Jean Monnet's personality and the way in which he worked.
Interview with Jacques-René Rabier: the origins of the Schuman Declaration (Luxembourg, 8 February 2002)
VideoIn this interview, Jacques-René Rabier, Head of the Private Office of Jean Monnet at the French National Planning Board from 1947 to 1952, explains his personal experience of the preparations for the Schuman Plan within the National Planning Board. He also describes the atmosphere when Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, made his declaration on 9 May 1950 in the Salon de l'Horloge at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris, a declaration that Jacques-René Rabier witnessed at first hand.
‘The Jean Monnet method’, as explained by Professor Pierre Gerbet (Paris, 23 January 2004)
Audio extractPierre Gerbet, Emeritus University Professor at the Paris Institute of Political Science, outlines the originality of the method — sometimes referred to as the ‘small steps’ approach — of gradual and sectoral integration advocated by Jean Monnet, the man behind the plan for a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1950.
Interview with Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen: the step-by-step policy (Pöcking, 5 and 6 February 2004)
VideoDuring this interview in February 2004, Archduke Otto von Habsburg-Lothringen, President of the International Paneuropean Union, describes Jean Monnet's personality and his ‘step-by-step' approach to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
Interview with Leo Tindemans: Jean Monnet and the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (Brussels, 24 February 2006)
VideoIn this interview, Leo Tindemans, former Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister for Foreign Affairs, discusses the personality of Jean Monnet as well as his working methods whilst in the Action Committee for the United States of Europe.
The importance of coal and steel
Report by the European Coal Organisation on coal production (10 June 1947)
TextOn 10 June 1947, the European Coal Organisation publishes a report on the situation of the coalfields in Europe and proposes measures to alleviate manpower shortages and to improve the outdated methods of coal production and distribution.
The importance of coal and steel
Report by the European Coal Organisation on the financial requirements of the European coal sector (5 July 1947)
TextOn 5 July 1947, the European Coal Organisation draws up an estimate of the financial investment requested to revive Western Europe's coal sector.
Suggestions of the Economic Commission for Europe on European steel (Geneva, 1949)
TextIn 1949, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe publishes a report in which it recommends a series of measures to enable the European steel industry to retain a competitive position on the world steel market.
Robert Schuman, For Europe: extract on the choice of coal and steel
TextIn his memoirs, Robert Schuman, former French Foreign Minister, recalls the reasons behind his commitment to a European coal and steel pool and his decision to take on the political responsibility for such a project.
Jean Monnet, Mémoires: extrait sur l'importance de l'industrie lourde du charbon et de l'acier
TextDans ses Mémoires, Jean Monnet rappelle pourquoi les secteurs de l'industrie lourde du charbon et de l'acier ont été choisis pour mettre fin aux tensions franco-allemandes et pour concrétiser la construction européenne.
Jean Monnet et l'importance du charbon
ImageLe charbon et l'acier se devaient d'être pour Jean Monnet, commissaire général au Plan de modernisation et d'équipement, les premiers supports susceptibles d'établir une communauté concrète d'intérêts, ouvrant la voie à la mise en place d'une autorité supranationale dotée de véritables pouvoirs.
Cartoon by Lang on Jean Monnet and the Schuman Plan (10 August 1950)
Image‘Mum, Dad, the coalman is here. I haven’t got any money … You haven’t got any money. So who called the coalman …?’ On 10 August 1950, the German cartoonist, Ernst Maria Lang, illustrates the fears of German industry in the light of Jean Monnet’s commitment to a European coal and steel pool.
Völklingen Ironworks in the Saar
ImageView of the Völklingen Ironworks in the Saar, a site specialising in iron and steel production.
The steel industry in Lorraine (1950)
ImageLorraine, the French region with a long tradition in the steel industry, is directly concerned by the pooling of coal and steel production in Europe.
Coal production in Europe
ImageFollowing the end of the Second World War, coal output increases its share in the national economies of Western Europe.
The industrial triangle
ImageMap illustrating the size of the coalfields and heavy industry regions in some of the Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community in March 1951.
Iron ore transportation in front of the ARBED steel complex in Esch-sur-Alzette
ImageTransporting iron ore by funicular in front of the ARBED steel complex in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.