On 17 September 1952, the German daily newspaper Kölnische Rundschau leads on the hopes raised in Europe by the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

On 10 January 1953, the ECSC High Authority reports on the setting up of the various Community institutions and expresses its satisfaction regarding the good relations being established between these institutions and the external bodies.

On 14 May 1953, on a visit to the United Kingdom, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer emphasises the need for European integration and underlines the importance of the United Kingdom for the unification process.

On 12 January 1953, the Belgian conservative daily newspaper La Libre Belgique publishes a critical article on the initial achievements of the High Authority of the ECSC.

In an address given to the Catholic University of Louvain on 2 February 1954, Joseph Bech emphasises the need to work not only towards an economic union in Europe but also towards a political and a defence union.

Dans ses Mémoires, Jean Monnet décrit le développement de l'esprit européen après la mise en oeuvre à Luxembourg de la Haute Autorité de la Communauté européenne du charbon et de l'acier (CECA).

Jean Monnet, President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (left), and Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (right), during the inaugural session of the Common Assembly of the ECSC held on 10 September 1952 in Strasbourg.

Paul-Henri Spaak, President of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (right), and Jean Monnet, President of the High Authority of the ECSC (left), in Strasbourg in January 1953.

Discussion between Dirk Spierenburg (on the left), Dutch Member of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and René Mayer (on the right), President of the High Authority.

Max Kohnstamm, Secretary of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) from 1952 to 1957, outlines the changes made to Europe’s economic and political structures as a result of the Schuman Plan.

In this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and subsequently of the Commission of the European Communities to the United Kingdom until 1973, describes the first steps and the legal implications of the diplomatic mission of the High Authority, which was established in London in 1956.