The first ‘European village’ is established in 1957 near Aachen. The welfare objective of the High Authority of the ECSC is to contribute to the construction of workers’ dwellings and houses, thereby improving the living conditions of workers in the coal and steel sectors.

In this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Private Office of Jean Monnet, President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) from 1952 to 1956, discusses the circumstances surrounding his nomination to this post.

In this interview, Georges Berthoin, representative of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) then the European Communities in London from 1956 to 1973, discusses the working methods used and the range of issues addressed at the time.

In this interview, Jacques-René Rabier, Director of the Information Service of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) from 1953 to 1958 and Director-General of the Press and Information Service of the European Communities from 1958 to 1973, discusses the establishment of the Joint Press and Information Service following the creation of two new Communities alongside the ECSC in 1958: the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

In this interview, Jacques-René Rabier, Director of the Information Service of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) from 1953 to 1958 and Director-General of the Press and Information Service of the European Communities from 1958 to 1973, describes the nature of the policy of information on the European Communities’ activities.

In this interview, Jacques-René Rabier, former Head of Jean Monnet’s Private Office, former Director of the Information Service of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and former Director-General of the Press and Information Service of the European Communities, discusses his interest in the myth of the abduction of Europa and its symbolic importance for the European integration process.

At the conference held from 25 to 28 March 1987 in Rome to mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), Pierre Uri, former Director of the ‘General Economy’ Department of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), recalls the circumstances surrounding his participation in the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom and outlines the proceedings of the Val Duchesse negotiations.

At the conference held from 25 to 28 March 1987 in Rome to mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), Pierre Uri, former Director of the ‘General Economy’ Department of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), outlines the reaction of French employers towards European revival and those of Pierre Mendès France in 1957 during the ratification of the Rome Treaties.

On 9 May 1950, the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, invites Germany and other interested European states to place their iron and steel production under the authority of a supranational European institution. As Schuman’s address could not be recorded on 9 May 1950, the Minister had to take part in a re-enactment of the event for posterity.

In an address delivered at the inaugural meeting of the EEC and EAEC Councils, held on 25 January 1958 in Brussels, Paul Finet, President of the High Authority of the ECSC, notes that, despite the differences in their tasks and structures, the three Communities are working towards the same aim: European integration.