The European Dream – The International Authority for Ruhr and the emergence of the European Coal and Steel Community

Abstract

The present essay seeks to emphasize the importance that the Intarnational Authority for Ruhr, along with the European Coal and Steel Community, had the maintenance of peace on the European continent, but also in shaping the ideal of European unity. The International Authority for Ruhr was one of the institutions designed to ensure the disarment and demilitarization of Germany. At the same time, albeit indirectly, the organization had a substantial role in the recovery and reconstruction of the European countries, including Democratic Germany, by promoting the cooperation of each of their economic sectors. Today's peaceful and prosperous Europe would not have been possible without the establishment of the International Authority, that made sure that the resourses of the Ruhr will not be used in destructive purposes. On the 9th of May, 1950, the Schuman-Monet Plan will provide solutions for the challenges that the International Authority oh Ruhr has been confronting – in particular, for the representation of Western Germany in the organization`s structure. The remarkable French proposal to pool the French and German resources of coal and steel not only solves the democratization of the organization, but also opens the horizon of participation to other desirable countries, while allowing the gradual withdrawal of the U.S.A. from the European cooperation and construction.