It all started in 1951 with the signature of the Paris Treaty creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC / CECA – Communauté Européenne du Charbon et de l'Acier). The Treaty of Paris was an international treaty based on international law, designed to help reconstruct the economies of the European continent, prevent war in Europe and ensure a lasting peace.
The idea was apparently conceived by a senior civil servant from France. Today you'll find plenty of streets and buildings named after him. His name was Jean Monnet. His idea of an international cooperation in the production of coal and steel was presented on May 9th 1950 by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman who has also a lot of streets and buildings named after him. Pooling the Franco-German coal and steel production was then believed to be a plausible guarantee for political stability as this was the basis of Europe's industry at that time and also the clearest manifestation of their economic streght. The aim was to avoid a new muscle show that could result in new military conflicts...
The plan was to put the production of these two countries under a higher authority within the framwork of an organisation that would be open to any other European country willing to participate to this pool of production. Some were interested indeed. The early negociators of what we call 'European Union' today were: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The establishment of the ESCS was signed on April 18th, 1951 for a duration of 50 years and came to an end on July 23rd, 2002.
The global energy cisis causing problems to the incredibly active European industry (reconstruction of homes, cities and factory networks, development of new technologies) lead to the proposal of extending the powers of the ECSC to other sources of energy. [Quiz: What two European countries were strongly involved in the pooling of the European Energy Industry and have today the greatest networks of nuclear power plants in Europe producing more energy than they need ans systematically exporting it?] Shortly after, a study was ordered into the prospects of nuclear power use in Europe. The report of course concluded that further nuclear development was needed to fill the deficit left by by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers (who we are still totally depend on today in 2011).
The Benelux states (maybe because they had no money, nore space, nore need to develop and build nuclear power facilities) insisted the need to create a global common market. Idea rejected by the protectionist French. Export nuclear power and industrial & war machinery – YES ; sharing the benefits of a common market and letting French consumers discover that virtually EVERYTHING is cheaper and better outside France – NO WAY...like a spoiled child...
Following his idea of alternative communities and, in an attempt to satisfy a maximum of interests, Jean Monnet proposed to create both as separate organisations. As a result of the Messina Conference of 1955, Paul-Henri Spaak was appointed as chairman of a preparatory committee (Spaak Committee) charged with the preparation of a report on the creation of a common European market and the French and German could continue to work on their respective civil and military nuclear programs. As long as everybody is happy...
The Spaak Report drawn up by the Spaak Committee provided the basis for further progress and was accepted at the Venice Conference (May 1956) where the decision was taken to organise an Intergovernmental Conference. The report formed the cornerstone of the Intergovernmental Conference held at Val Duchesse later in 1956.
The conference eventually led to the signature, on March 25th, 1957, of the Treaties of Rome at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on Capitoline Hill in Rome. The rest of the story is pretty easy and obvious: a strong EUR leads to good export conditions for the U.S. (these are probably the interests from the Marshall Plan); European wars are exported (Lybia 2011); Romanians are said to take Frenchmen's jobs – the French are pissed; Turks are believed to steel Germans' job – the German are pissed... we have been sold the fact that being able to buy your dishwasher in a another country with the same currency as in your home country might contribute to peace (inside Europe) but it IS NOT freedom, is it?!...do you feel safer now?
In March 2007, the BBC's Today radio programme reported that delays in printing the treaty meant that the document signed by the European leaders as the Treaty of Rome consisted of blank pages between its frontispiece and page for the signatures. It's a fake world.
Some probably tell the story better...