When the Schuman Plan was declared in May 1950, there was an initial feeling of mistrust, particularly in Germany, where it was considered incredible that France could be offering equality. But Adenauer was convinced within a short space of time, of the integrity of what the Schuman declaration stood for, to the extent that he asked Monnet to vet the German representative, Walter Hallstein, for the negotiations. It was Monnet himself who led the French delegation at the talks which began in June 1950 between France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux. Between June and November 1950 was marked by many meetings and discussions, so that the Treaty was virtually drawn up by December 1950. The European Coal and Steel Community was to be opened free from customs duties and all trade restrictions, with strong anti-cartel laws in place, with the backing of the Court of Justice. The Treaty was initialed April 1951, delayed due to the power struggle over the deconcentration of the Ruhr, which was finally ended due to the pressure exerted on theGerman industrialists by Adenauer and McCloy. Plus there were differences in opinions of respective countries over the different articles of the draft Treaty, nature of High Authority, and efforts to induce Britian to join. The Scrap Agreement wasn't initialed until December until a solution to the scrap problem was found with UK.

The originals are held in various Archives in Europe and in the USA

No Photocopying