Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris of 1951 created the European Coal and Steel Community, which pooled the coal and steel industries of France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg under a common authority. It followed the proposal by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman, inspired by Jean Monnet, to make a new war between France and Germany impossible by placing their war industries under joint control. The treaty came into force the following year, and it was the first of the European Communities. The six countries went on to form the European Economic Community in 1957, and the Coal and Steel Community was the foundation of what became the European Union. The treaty expired in 2002.

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