Schuman Declaration’s anniversary: where the EU was born

On 9 May, the European Union celebrates the day it was founded in the form we know it today. 

On this day in 1950, in a document that became known as the Schuman Declaration, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman announced the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, controlled by a common High Authority.

In 1951, following the Schuman Declaration, the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community was signed on 18 April, in Paris. After ratification by Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (the Inner Six), the treaty entered into force on 23 July 1952.

It provided for the creation of the first supranational European organisation, the European Coal and Steel Community. While the immediate objective of this first treaty was to establish a common market for coal and steel, it also aimed to lay the foundations of an economic community that would gradually become a political union.

The treaty established a High Authority, a Common Assembly, a Special Council of Ministers and a Court of Justice, which were to become the institutions of the European Union of today: the Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Justice.

Because of the significance of the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950, this day has been designated as ‘Europe Day’, now widely celebrated in Europe and worldwide, including in the Eastern Partner countries.

Find out more

EU page dedicated to Schuman Declaration