The European Parliament is marking 70 years of democracy in action - from its first assembly in 1952 to being stronger than ever during challenging times today.

70th Anniversary of the European Parliament: 70 years of European democracy

The Schuman Declaration was presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950.

It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community, whose members would pool coal and steel production.
The ECSC (founding members: France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) was the first of a series of supranational European institutions that would ultimately become today's "European Union".
On 9 May 1950, the Salon de l’Horloge in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on Quai d’Orsay in Paris was transformed into a press room and Robert Schuman gave his speech. Since 1985, Europe Day has been celebrated on 9 May every year.

Schuman Declaration - 9 May 1950

2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. On this occasion, the Archives unit, the directorate for the Library and Knowledge services and the Strasbourg liaison office jointly organise an exhibition to celebrate this significant event in the history of European integration.

On 9 May 1950, against the backdrop of the Cold War, Robert Schuman, French Minister for Foreign Affairs, issued a declaration which marked the beginning of the process of building the European Community. The aim was to establish a new supranational organisation with a view to creating a common coal and steel market between France and Germany which was also open to other European countries. It would be the European Coal and Steel Community, or ECSC. Robert Schuman was elected the first President of the European Parliamentary Assembly (EPA) on 19 March 1958; he held that post until March 1960.

Exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration

Commemorative plaque on the former Headquarters of the ECSC High Authority in Luxembourg.

Panel 12: Negotiations on the ECSC Treaty

Panel 15: Ratification of the ECSC Treaty

Panel 16: Entry into force of the ECSC Treaty

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Exhibition unveiling

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Reception at the Rohan Palace in Strasbourg

Francois BRUNAGEL, Egon KLEPSCH EP President

Alain POHER, Walter BEHRENDT, Emilio COLOMBO, Cornelis BERKHOUWER, Simone VEIL, Pierre PFLIMLIN, Lord Henry PLUMB, (back) Egon KLEPSCH EP President, Jacques DELORS EC President

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Formal sitting

Mrs KLEPSCH, Egon KLEPSCH EP President, Jacques DELORS EC President

Egon KLEPSCH EP President, Francois BRUNAGEL

Enrico VINCI, Jacques DELORS EC President, Pierre PFLIMLIN

Egon KLEPSCH, Jacques DELORS, Simone VEIL, Pierre PFLIMLIN, Lord PLUMB

Arnaud DANJEAN, Hans-Gert POTTERING, Paul RUBIG

50 years of the Elysee-Treaty : The French-German friendship as motor of Europe

Paul Henri SPAAK, President of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) from 1952 to 1954 and President of the Intergovernmental Committee which laid the foundations for the future European  Economic Community (EEC) and European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

Enrique BARON CRESPO, Jose Maria GIL ROBLES, Lord Henry PLUMB, Pat COX, EP President, Klaus HANSCH, Pieter DANKERT, Egon KLEPSCH, Hans Joacim OPITZ

50th anniversary of the European Parliament - First meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the ECSC on September 10, 1952

Informal conversation between Joseph Bech, Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg, Robert Schuman, President of the European Movement International (EMI), and elected President of the European Parliamentary Assembly, and Piero Malvestiti (left t

Swearing in of the Members of the newly appointed High Authority of the ECSC

European Coal and Steel Community Assembly in Strasbourg

First session of the European Coal and Steel Community Assembly in Strasbourg, France, January 1953. Antonio BOGGIANO PICO (R) and Dirk SPIERENBURG.

News articles, tribute to Jean Monnet (Cognac, France, November 9, 1888 - Houjarray, France, March 16, 1979), one of the founding fathers of European construction. He had a long career in the world of politics and in the world of economics and finance. Since 1914, he was responsible for numerous tasks in the service of the French and British governments. Member of the government of Free France since 1943, after the liberation of France Charles de Gaulle asked him to establish a modernisation and equipment plan for the country. In face of rising international tensions in 1950, he developed the idea for a European Community and prepared the famous Robert Schuman Declaration on 9 May 1950. He became the first President of the High Authority for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) on 7 August 1952 and held the positon until 3rd of June 1955. He was granted honorary citizen of Europe in 1976 and was buried in the French Pantheon in 1988.

Demonstration of Lorraine miner's

Plenary session in Luxembourg in 1978.

António Ramalho EANES, EP President Emilio COLOMBO

Official visit of the Portugese President

Meeting with the President of the EP

Pieter DANKERT MEP during a session in October 1978.

The delegue Carlo MEINTZ during a session in October 1978.

The delegue Heinrich AIGNER during a session in October 1978.

The delegue Jean LAURAIN during a session in Luxembourg in October 1978.

EP President during a session in Luxembourg in October 1978.

The delegue Antoine PORCU during a session in Luxembourg in October 1978.

With the help of AI tools, this tutorial video explains how to search and analyse documents of the Archives of the European Parliament. Discover historical documents from 1952 onwards and trace parliamentary activities from the ECSC Common Assembly to the elected European Parliament.

Archives Content Analysis Dashboard

The Memoclip illustrates: - "La déclaration Schuman" - The Signature of the Treaty of Paris - Speeches during the Common Assembly - Historical footage of steel and coal production

Memoclip : European Community of Steel and Coal (ECSC)

Treaty of Paris comes into force - Common Assembly of the ECSC - 1952

Treaty of Paris comes into force - Common Assembly of the ECSC

After the Second World War II, several European countries wanted to unite to avoid war breaking out in the future. They decided to pool the materials used to wage war and created the ECSC.

Eureka: Creation of the ECSC

This Memoclip illustrates the negotiations for the Rome Treaties held in Château de Val Duchesse in Brussels in June 1956. On 26 June 1956, the Foreign Ministers of the six Member States (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany) of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) inaugurate the work of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at the Château de Val Duchesse in Brussels, under the presidency of Belgian Paul-Henri Spaak. © The Associated Press. The material is offered for the purpose of providing information and/or education on the European Union until 13/02/2022. The assignment to a third part is not allowed. For any other uses contact AP – www.aparchives.com See shotlist for further information.

Memoclip: 1956 - The Val Duchesse negotiations for the Rome Treaties (mute)

This film illustrates the coal mining, the steel industry, the Institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community (the High Authority in Luxembourg, the Common Assembly in Strasbourg, the Court of Justice in Luxembourg).

Memoclip: The European Community

Film based on newsreels telling the history of the Treaty of Paris (French versionb with shotlist in English). This film illustrates the Schuman declaration (09/05/1950), the signatures of the Treaty of Paris, the High Authority, the Court of Justice and the Assembly of the ECSC, coal mining and steel industry across Europe.

Memoclip: "History of a Treaty"

The Schuman Declaration was presented by French Foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950 in Paris . "Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity". It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community, whose members would pool coal and steel production. The ECSC was an organisation of six European countries created to regulate their industrial production under a centralised authority. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The ECSC started the process of formal integration which ultimately led to the European Union.

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Commemorative plaque on the former Headquarters of the ECSC High Authority in Luxembourg.

Commemorative plaque on the former Headquarters of the ECSC High Authority in Luxembourg.

Exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration

Exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration

Exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration

Exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Exhibition unveiling

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Reception at the Rohan Palace in Strasbourg

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Exhibition unveiling

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Exhibition unveiling

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Formal sitting

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Reception at the Rohan Palace in Strasbourg

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Reception at the Rohan Palace in Strasbourg

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Formal sitting

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Exhibition unveiling

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Formal sitting

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Exhibition unveiling

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Reception at the Rohan Palace in Strasbourg