The beginnings of the ECSC

The beginnings of the ECSC


The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) provided for the following institutions:


– a High Authority, assisted by a Consultative Committee;

– a Common Assembly;

– a Special Council of Ministers;

– a Court of Justice.


The various institutions began work in 1952. On 10 August 1952, the inaugural session of the High Authority took place in Luxembourg, although the issue of the seat had still not been conclusively settled. The first session of the Special Council of Ministers took place in Luxembourg on 8 September 1952, chaired by the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer.


By 1953, the common market was operating to general satisfaction. The success was as much economic as political in nature. The common market was a factor for the growth of intra-European production and trade. On a political level, it promoted Franco-German reconciliation just a few years after the defeat of Hitler’s Reich.

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