European_Integration

European integration is the process of political, legal and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe. In the present day, European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and the Council of Europe. The Union itself is widely recognized and appreciated. However; before the end of World War II, people were unaccustomed to this momentous concept. At the end of the Second World War, Europe was in pandemonium. Thousands of refugees roamed the streets, the economy had collapsed, and most of the European industrial infrastructure was destroyed. When it did end in1945, it ultimately brought an end to traditional European hegemony in the world. The two new superpowers, the USA and the USSR, had superior economic, political and military might, much more so than the heterogeneous group of European States. There was a great desire among many Europeans to create a freer, fairer and more prosperous continent, in which the international relationships could develop so as to match the two superpowers. Also, as both world wars had begun as civil wars within European countries and the continent had been the main battle field in both, it became evident that something needed to change to avoid such hostility. Integration would aid the prevention of confrontation among European States. Essentially, it was a question of searching for accommodation between France and Germany. Therefore, European integration paved the way to guarantee peace. In order to achieve European integration, a recovery project was first needed to revitalise the European, and also the global economy. A rational effort was made by the United States in 1947 when General George Marshall announced a Plan; not in Congress, but to students at Harvard University. This European Recovery Programme (nicknamed the ‘Marshall Plan’) aimed at reducing the hunger, homelessness, sickness, unemployment, and political restlessness in Western Europe. Marshall Plan funds were not mainly directed towards feeding individuals or building individual houses, schools, or factories - but at strengthening the economic superstructure i.e. iron-steel and power industries. Over the four-years during which the Marshall Plan was formally in operation, Congress appropriated $13.3 billion for European recovery. These funds were not merely a giveaway, in fact; The United States also benefited from the plan by developing valuable trading partners and reliable allies among the West European nations. The plan was most successful, and certainly the most expensive foreign policy initiative ever attempted in peacetime; but it did achieve far-reaching consequences. In the short run, it relieved widespread privatisation and averted the threat of a serious economic depression. Then in the long run, it enabled the West European nations to recover and maintain not only economic but political independence. It also paved the way for other forms of international cooperation such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and today's European Union. Overall, Marshall Aid had a huge effect on Europe; the years 1948-1952 were a time of massive economic growth. The Schuman Plan, as it became known, was the basis for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) that was established in 1952. It was agreed that the six countries that signed the Treaty of Paris: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, would pool its coal and steel resources. In 1958 the European Coal and Steel Community evolved into the European Economic Community (EEC). Under the ECC attempts were made to achieve harmonization. This included measures in areas such as indirect taxation, industrial regulation, agriculture, fisheries and monetary policies. The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) was introduced in 1962. This plan facilitated further economic growth, as trade barriers were removed and more international trade was taking place, thus increasing prosperity within the union. The ECSC held a meeting which would be known as the Messina conference from the 1st to 3rd June 1955. The aim of this meeting was to appoint a new president and vice president; but more so to consider of the action programme to re-launch European integration. In August 1954 the plans had collapsed to create a European Political Community and a common defence force, (the European Defence Community) as a substitute for the national armies of Germany, France, Italy and the three Benelux countries, when France refused to ratify the Treaty. The six ECSC countries then turned their attention to the idea of accustoms, which was elaborated at Messina. The final resolution of the conference, largely reflecting the point of view of the three Benelux countries, formed the basis for further work to re-launch integration. The Benelux countries in their Benelux memorandum proposed a revival of European integration on the basis of a common market and integration in the transport and atomic energy sectors. Paul-Henri Spaak was entrusted, on 18th June, with the production of a report at an Intergovernmental Committee in order to evaluate the option of sectorial integration or the step-by-step establishment of a European common market. The Spaak Report and the subsequent conference, held at the Valley of the Duchess then led to the formation of the Treaties of Rome in 1957 and the formation of the European Economic Community and Euratom in1958.  The Treaties of Rome are two treaties that were both signed on 25th March 1957 by the same countries referred to as ‘The Six of European integration’. One of which established the European Atomic Community (the EAEC Treaty). Another was establishing the European Economic Community (the EEC Treaty/ Treaty of Rome). Both of these then led to the establishment of what we now know as the European Union. They were the first international organisations to be based on super nationalism, after the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) established a few years prior. The treaties came into force on 1 January 1958 and the EEC Treaty has been amended numerous times since. In Conclusion, the European community had considerable success. Integration has proved to be the most significant European historical development in the past fifty years, eclipsing in importance even the collapse of the USSR. Also; once introduced, the EEC allowed Europe to be based on a wider common market covering a whole range of goods and services. Customs duties between ‘the six’ were completely abolished on 1 July 1968 and common policies, notably on trade and agriculture, were also put in place during the 1960s. So successful, was this venture that Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom decided to join the Community. References Books: J. McCormick, Understanding the European Union, Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2005 Websites: * http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWschumanP.html * www.euronews.net * www.europa.eu