‘Bevin: First of all, let’s see what you’re preparing for us!’ On 30 May 1950, the German cartoonist Beuth illustrates the caution of the United Kingdom regarding the Schuman Plan to pool the European production of coal and steel. From left to right: Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, Konrad Adenauer, Federal Chancellor, and Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister.
On 14 June 1950, René Massigli, French Ambassador to London, writes to Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, to outline the exact position of British Prime Minister Clement Attlee on the plan for a coal and steel pool.
On 19 May 1950, Oliver Harvey, British Ambassador to Paris, writes to Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, to outline the possible political consequences of an acceptance or rejection of the Schuman Plan by the United Kingdom.
In July 1950, the British periodical The Banker outlines the scope of the Schuman Plan and describes the likely impact of the plan on the UK’s industrial sector.
On 30 May 1950, in an article in the British daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian, philosopher Raymond Aron considers the origins of the Schuman Plan and speculates on the chances of success of the French initiative.
On 11 May 1950, in a statement to the House of Commons, the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, expresses his thoughts on the Schuman Plan and confirms his support for the French proposal.
On 10 and 11 May, 1970, in an interview granted to journalist Georges Suffert, Jean Monnet, former Commissioner-General at the French National Planning Board, describes the United Kingdom’s reaction to the Schuman Plan.
On 11 May 1950, two days after the Schuman Declaration, British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman and US Secretary of State Dean Acheson meet in London, where Ernest Bevin, unhappy at having been presented with a fait accompli, expresses his grievances to his French counterpart.
