Organization For European Economic Cooperation Research Articles

A historical trajectory of Financial Education: from OEEC to the new ENEF

This paper discusses the relevant historical aspects of Financial Education. The aim is to contribute to a broad understanding of how the subject has been built up, changed and become an everyday topic. We start from the creation of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), through the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which developed Financial Education, until we arrive in Brazil, with the Estratégia Nacional de Educação Financeira (ENEF — National Strategy for Financial Education), in 2010, updated in 2020. The historical trajectory of the OECD and ENEF proposals shows a market approach to Financial Education. Over the years, in the context of education and Mathematics Education, discussions have matured, resulting in a Financial Education that questions the neoliberal system and seeks social transformation.

Debating Europe Transnationally: The Council of European Industrial Federations and the Struggle over European Integration, 1950–1962

European integration has been promoted, shaped and criticised by a variety of actors in different frameworks since 1945. Non-state actors such as employers’ associations became involved in this process very early on and, contrary to the widespread assumption in political science, created or revived transnational business associations in order to debate and shape the development of European integration from the second half of the 1940s. One of these platforms was the Council of European Industrial Federations (CEIF), which was founded in 1949 and consisted of representatives of all the national peak employers’ associations from the member states of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). It officially advised the OEEC and represented European industry. The article analyses transnational business associations’ conflictual engagement with European integration and ‘Europe’ on the basis of the CEIF's Europeanisation process in the 1950s. It argues that contestation acted as a main driver of Europeanisation and that the early period of European integration must be understood as one of fights over different ‘Europes’. However, it also shows that ‘Europe’ must be understood as a fluid category that was used in various ways and imbued with a range of meanings by economic actors in different circumstances.

Hidden female figures in the organisation for European economic co-operation, and the reconstruction of Europe after WWII

The study of female economists during the post-World War II reconstruction of Western Europe is as yet unresearched. A small but substantial collection of publications discusses the role of male economists within the European institutions created after World War II. However, none of them analyzes contributions made by female economists. This paper aims to shed some light on female economists who participated in the reconstruction of Europe through their work in the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was created by the Marshall Plan following the Conference of Sixteen (Conference for European Economic Co-operation). Firstly, we searched for names of female economists who served the institution, hoping that some relevant hidden female figures in the OEEC would resurface. Secondly, through oral history archives and personal documents, we reconstructed the biographies of three female economists who contributed, in different ways, to the activities of the OEEC: Miriam Camp, Florence Kirlin, and Vera Cao Pinna. By comparing these three figures, in terms of their educational and social backgrounds, their narrative, as well as their connections with international networks of experts, we defined their similarities and differences in order to identify the main characteristics that allowed them, even if at different levels and with different roles, to participate in international diplomacy and technical support deployed in the construction and diffusion of the idea of the peaceful, united, and prosperous Europe which we live in today. Tracing back the presence of women in OEEC, this article aims to bring some light on: what did being a woman economist entails in the after WWII in the newborn European institutions and what did it mean in terms of the kind of work and experience a woman could be doing within the process of professionalisation of the economics discipline in the international organisations. We are interested in describing the experiences and self-perceptions of women economists working in male dominated international institutions. Female international thinkers and experts, well known in their own time, were largely overlooked and neglected by scholars, politics, and international history later.

Spreading the Culture of Economic Growth: Productivity Missions and the Americanization of the German Economy

This article examines how the Marshall Plan stimulated a culture of economic growth in postwar Germany, specifically through an international exchange programme known as ‘productivity missions’. From 1948 until the late 1950s these missions facilitated thousands of encounters between American and European managers, workers and experts in order to spread American industrial and managerial practices and, as a consequence, to boost postwar economic recovery in the capitalist world. Run by the Economic Cooperation Administration and the Organization for European Economic Co-operation, the productivity campaign enjoyed the support of both national governments as well as business associations and trade unions. While there is ample historiography on the political intentions and the economic consequences of the Marshall Plan, we know less about the productivity missions as vehicles of cultural transformation. Based on first-hand reports and archival evidence from both sides of the Atlantic, this article explores the cultural dimensions of the productivity campaign. It argues that the missions were an important catalyst for the dominant role of productivity and economic growth in postwar German society.

Reassessing the historical dynamics of European business associations: The genesis of UNICE, late 1940s to 1970s

This article demonstrates that the Schuman Plan and the European Economic Community (EEC) challenged the unity of pre-existing European business associations. It emphasises the effects of coexisting European integration processes between the late 1940s to the 1970s on the development and the structuration of European business associations. The UNICE, the EEC’s main employers’ organisation, was first founded in 1952 as a committee of an employers’ organisation within the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), and was relaunched in 1958 within the EEC. Studying the shift from the OEEC to the EEC provides new insights into how European business associations adapted to the redefinition of European political spaces. Based on archives from European business associations, this article presents the forgotten structural development of UNICE, from its initial foundation in 1952 to its refoundation as the EEC’s representative European business organisation in 1958, and its later gradual structuring in the early 1970s.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) experts’ contribution in the establishment of the University of Patras

ABSTRACT The Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) was founded in 1948 with the aim of connecting European countries to the United States through the economic project of the Marshall Plan. Since 1958, the OECD has worked with Greek governments to modernize and develop the country. Part of the investigations undertaken by the OECD in order to achieve successful globalization in cooperation with European governments has provided expertise to the member countries which has affected the development trends of the nations and states. Even though the decisions and suggestions of these two organizations seem to have had an impact on urban planning, there is little research in the international literature that has examined their participation in the evolution of spatial data in the post-WWII period. In this paper, my aim is to examine the dynamics between the different actors involved in the process of creating the University of Patras and to question the role of international experts in that process. Τhe research is based on material in the OECD in Paris, the Historical Archives of University of Patras and Constantinos A. Doxiadis Archives, Athens.

ANALYSIS OF THE FEATURES OF THE MARSHALL’S PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND THE PROSPECTS OF UKRAINE ECONOMY RESTORATION ON ITS BASIS

The article examines the essence, features and approaches used for the practical implementation of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was a joint effort between the United States and Europe and among European nations working together. Prior to formulation of a program of assistance, the United States required that European nations agree on a financial proposal, including a plan of action committing Europe to take steps toward solving its economic problems. The main motives and directions on which efforts were directed at its realization are analyzed that includes expansion of European agricultural and industrial production, trade stimulation between European countries and between Europe and the rest of the world, restoration of currency stability, budget financing, and general improvement of the financial system of European countries. Investigated that the implementation of the plan took place with the participation of two organizations (agencies), they were the U.S.-managed Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) and the European-run Organization for European Economic Cooperation. Effectiveness evaluation of the Marshall’s Plan in terms of the dynamics of gross domestic product of different recipient countries is held. The main recipients were Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany that had shown the greatest effectiveness over the years of the Marshall’s Plan existence. So, German society has been able to ensure rapid GDP growth up to 84.5%. This became the basis for further effective development of the country’s economy. The basic principles of the Marshall Plan, which Ukraine needs to take into account in the potential implementation of such a plan to restore the domestic economy and infrastructure, are highlighted. The framework of a possible financing mechanism for such a plan is outlined. The basic principles of its realization are offered and substantiated.

How the European recovery program (ERP) drove France's petroleum dependency, 1948–1975

The article investigates the roles of the European Recovery Program (ERP) and the Organization for European Economic Co-Operation (OEEC) in pushing France towards a pathway of petroleum dependency. The study is based on the energy transition and the Deep Transition frameworks, notably the analysis of specific collective actors. The analysis elaborates on the impact the OEEC Refinery Expansion Program had on (a) quality and quantity of petroleum product supply in France; (b) the French position within global crude oil and petroleum product trade; (c) the technological interrelatedness of the petroleum sector with agriculture, transport, and mobility. We show how different measures were designed to integrate sociotechnical systems, accelerate the transformation of energy systems and put the objective of Western Europe's “hidden integration” to work. The article concludes that complementing transition studies with historical and socio-metabolic perspectives can shed light on the origins of unsustainable pathways during the 20th century.

Stefnuyfirfærsla: Áhrif Efnahags- og framfarastofnunarinnar (OECD) á stefnumótun á Íslandi

Alþjóðastofnanir á borð við Efnahags- og framfarastofnunina (OECD), Sameinuðu þjóðirnar (SÞ), Alþjóðagjaldeyrissjóðinn (AGS) og Alþjóðabankann eru þekktar fyrir að standa að baki útbreiðslu hugmynda, gilda og stefnumála um heim allan. Á 10. áratugnum jókst áhugi fræðimanna á viðfangsefni sem kallað er hér stefnuyfirfærsla (e. policy transfer). Tilraunir fræðimanna fólust m.a. í því að setja ramma utan um nálgunina og skýra af hverju yfirfærsla á sér stað, við hvaða aðstæður, á hvaða stigi o.s.frv. Fátt hefur verið meira rannsakað innan stjórnsýslufræðanna undanfarna áratugi erlendis en viðfangsefnið hefur lítið borið á góma hér á landi. Þrátt fyrir mikinn áhuga á viðfangsefninu alþjóðlega hefur nálgunin verið gagnrýnd þar sem hún er m.a. talin vera of lýsandi og kenningarlega veik. Hafa ekki embættismenn og stjórnmálamenn stolið hugmyndum frá hvor öðrum í aldir? Í ár verður Efnahags- og framfarastofnunin (OECD) 60 ára. Ísland er eitt af stofnaðildarríkjunum og því kominn tími til að rýna þetta langa samstarf sem íslensk stjórnsýsla hefur átt við OECD. Tilgangur þessarar greinar er að fjalla um starfsemi OECD og meta áhrif hennar á íslenska stefnumótun. Í fyrsta hluta greinarinnar er annars vegar fjallað um forvera OECD sem var Efnahagssamvinnustofnun Evrópu (OEEC) og hvernig hún lagði grunninn að því hvernig OECD starfar í dag. Hins vegar er farið ítarlega yfir hlutverk og skipulag OECD og þær áskoranir sem stofnunin hefur staðið frammi fyrir á undanförnum áratugum. Í öðrum hluta er aðferðin stefnuyfirfærsla skoðuð nánar. Aðferðin er skilgreind auk þess sem fjallað er um helstu leikendur. Tilraun er gerð til að ramma inn helstu afbrigði stefnuyfirfærslna og rætt er um sjálfviljuga og þvingaða yfirfærslu. Að lokum er fjallað um þátttöku Íslands á vettvangi OECD. Til að meta að hvaða leyti íslensk stjórnvöld nýta sér afurðir OECD við stefnumótun hér á landi er stuðst við gögn úr árangurskönnunum stofnunarinnar.

Lyceum Education and the New Socioeconomic Realities Emerging from the Post-War (1945-1968)

The economic reconstruction of the European continent, as regards the capitalist bloc, combined policies for consolidating representative democracy through the European Recovery Programme (the Marshall Plan) and the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). These policies resulted in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with its liberal rationale of fostering economic competitiveness using technology and a belief in the good of development. A central role in this development was played by education, with its basis in the theory of human capital. In this period, Portugal recognized the need to reposition itself internationally, at the same time making thorough internal changes. The growing role of the state in ideological control made it possible to exact a contribution to economic development from education. Education planning policies were implemented in conjunction with economic planning and development, centred around the training of qualified human resources, the valorisation of school capital, and making use of technical support from international organisations. In this polarised context, how did the goals attributed to lyceum education and its curricular structure develop? What were the objectives of the so-called Preparatory Cycle of Secondary Education (Ciclo Preparatório do Ensino Secundário - CPES). A panoply of written sources has been called upon and submitted to documentary analysis using the critical method in order to answer these questions. In a certain way, they sum up the resolution of ideas and the polarity of positions on the burning question and the creation of the CPES, and the attention dedicated, at least rhetorically, to vocational guidance.

The Development of Air Pollution in Mexico City

The present essay documents changes to both objects of inquiry and the meaning of the epistemological concept of air pollution and it explains the processes that produced them. Smog as a result of production processes and the use of the automobile was not a concern for researchers and government managers in Mexico City, who were used to the dust storms resulting from the desiccation of the great Texcoco Lake during much of the 20th century, until the most industrialized nations of the West and the World Health Organization (WHO), alongside other international bodies such as the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), reframed what was understood as air pollution, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. Concerns about dust storms were displaced by concerns about factory and automotive emissions that contained new dangers—invisible hazards, just then being estimated, which altered what was understood or considered air pollution and gave rise to the quantification of particulate matter (which was then known as suspended dust particles) and new practices such as atmospheric monitoring. This essay concludes that what is understood as air pollution is situated; its meaning is not finite but simply evolves with time and with the rise of new global risks and concerns.

Processi di liberalizzazione tra integrazione continentale e conflittualità internazionale. Italia, Europa, Oece (1947-1953)

L'articolo prenderà in esame l'esperienza dell'Italia all'interno dell'Organizzazione per la cooperazione economica europea (Oece) negli anni della prima legislatura repubblicana.A partire da una riflessione sulle motivazioni tanto economiche quanto politico-diplomatiche che si posero alla base dell'adesione italiana all'Oece, questo contributo analizzerà le misure di liberalizzazione commerciale perseguite dal paese all'interno degli organi decisionali dell'organizzazione. Si darà risalto alla dimensione europea delle iniziative che l'Italia elaborò nell'ambito della progressiva riduzione di dazi, tariffe e contingentamenti alle importazioni di beni provenienti dai mercati internazionali. Si passeranno in rassegna le principali iniziative presentate in sede Oece dalla delegazione italiana e verranno presi in considerazione i provvedimenti promossi a livello europeo da parte dei maggiori partner della Penisola: i piani Stikker e Pella (1950); la nascita dell'Unione europea dei pagamenti (Uep, 1950); il pacchetto di liberalizzazioni introdotto da La Malfa (1951); la reintroduzione delle restrizioni quantitative da parte di Regno Unito e Francia (1951-1952).Questo contributo intende perciò sondare la natura, i presupposti e gli esiti della "filosofia liberalizzatrice" sviluppata dalle classi dirigenti dello stato italiano nel più ampio contesto del processo di integrazione economica del Vecchio continente e della genesi di quello che sarebbe poi divenuto il mercato comune europeo.

A False Start? British Perspectives on Italy’s Participation in the Early Phases of the European Economic Integration Process: The Case of the OEEC (1948–1952)

This article examines how Anglo-Italian relationships unfolded in the aftermath of the Second World War within the framework of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). By analysing Italy’s participation in the early stages of the European integration process through the lens of British diplomacy, this contribution aims to shed new light on the international dimension of Rome’s post-1945 political and economic strategies. First, the article considers the main concerns that characterized Italy’s involvement in the OEEC activities between the late 1940s and the early 1950s: the promotion of the circulation of the intra- and extra-European manpower and the liberalization of trade and payments. Second, rather than making a ‘classic’ comparison between the divergent policies – particularly the internal and international economic programmes – that Britain and Italy pursued within the OEEC, this article highlights the extent to which an ‘asymmetry of power’ impacted Italy’s ability to realize its strategies. To conclude, the essay assesses how bilateral and multilateral relationships in the OEEC arena mutually contributed to the shaping of Italy and Britain’s patterns of post-WWII economic reconstruction.

The Marshall Plan—Saving Europe Rebuilding Austria: The European Recovery Program—The ERP Fund—The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation by Günter Bischof and Hans Petschar

Reviewed by: The Marshall Plan—Saving Europe Rebuilding Austria: The European Recovery Program—The ERP Fund—The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation by Günter Bischof and Hans Petschar Laura A. Detre Günter Bischof and Hans Petschar, The Marshall Plan—Saving Europe Rebuilding Austria: The European Recovery Program—The ERP Fund—The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation. Vienna: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 2017. 333 pp. Seventy years ago, the American secretary of state, George Marshall, gave a speech that would have a profound impact on both the U.S. and Western Europe. This address would lead to the creation of the Marshall Plan, a vast program for rebuilding postwar Europe and an important milestone in the developing [End Page 103] Cold War. In recognition of the anniversary of that address, Günter Bischof and Hans Petschar have produced a massive text examining the impact of Marshall Plan programs on Austria. This is a large, glossy book with many high-quality photographs. On the surface, this might seem like an odd choice; the Marshall Plan was a U.S. government program and typically we do not think of economic policy as the most photogenic topic, but in this case the outcome of the program is eminently visual. Bischof and Petschar begin, logically, with images of Austria in 1945, showing the destruction left after the war, and then they illustrate the earliest programs to aid Europe in the postwar period, such as the distribution of CARE packages. The focus then shifts to depicting the most prominent figures in the creation of the Marshall Plan, including Secretary of State George Marshall, whose 1947 speech at Harvard University laid the foundation for the program that would eventually bear his name. Marshall recognized that it was in the United States' interest to invest in the rebuilding of Europe and that reconstruction had been hampered by infighting between the Allies. His Harvard commencement speech marked the beginning of a major project, but there were still hurdles to be overcome. Austria, perhaps more than any other country in postwar Europe, exemplified those barriers to rebuilding. Most countries fell clearly into the sphere of interest of either the Americans or the Soviets. Some, such as Yugoslavia, followed a more independent path, but they were exceptional. Germany, while jointly occupied, was increasingly divided by occupation zones and would soon become two independent countries. Austria is the only place where all four Allied powers were present and where the country was not sharply divided by that occupation. It was because of this proximity to the Soviets that Austria argued to the Americans that they constituted a "special case." As Bischof and Petschar note, the Austrian government explicitly said that their case was unique in that they had lost the ability to trade with their Eastern neighbors. This view of Austria as exceptional regarding the Marshall Plan is consistent with the overall view of postwar Austrian governments. There was a near-consensus among Austrian politicians that they were the first victims of Nazism, that the Soviets were using the occupation to achieve retribution for the war, and that the Western Allies, led by the United States, were moving too slowly to rebuild an independent Republic of Austria. The government of Leopold Figl was eager to sign on to the Marshall Plan, but not everyone involved in Austrian politics shared their enthusiasm for working closely with the Americans. Bischof and Petschar show that [End Page 104] Austrian Communists resisted the idea of the Marshall Plan, arguing that it would allow the United States to dominate the Austrian economy and ultimately undermine the country's independence. Communists within Austria joined the Soviets in denouncing the plan and focused their attention on undermining it. The Marshall Plan, of course, varied depending on which of the sixteen countries in the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, or OEEC, one focuses on, and Austria was arguably one of the countries most transformed by the program. Initially the Marshall Plan supported the rebuilding of heavy industries, such as the United Austrian Iron and Steel Works, known in Austria as VÖEST. Later, the tourism industry benefited from Marshall Plan money. As the authors note, initially government officials were reticent...

The Interaction of Articles 6, 7 and 21 of the 2014 OECD Model Tax Convention: A Historical Analysis

The discussion regarding the interaction between Article 6 (Income from Immovable Property), Article 7 (Business Profits) and Article 21 (Other Income) of the OECD Model is not new. However, the historical documents of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which have now been made available, throw new light on the issue. It has been argued that Article 6(4), and not Article 7(4), governs the relationship between Articles 6 and 7, therefore excluding the possibility of applying Article 7 to any income from immovable property. Therefore, it is argued, that Article 21 is the only correct distributive rule to apply in cases where the bilateral scope of Article 6 is not satisfied. This article traces the evolution of Article 6, as evidenced by the historical documents, which reveals a different intention underlying Article 6(4).

The Interaction of Articles 6, 7 and 21 of the 2014 OECD Model Tax Convention: A Historical Analysis

The discussion regarding the interaction between Article 6 (Income from Immovable Property), Article 7 (Business Profits) and Article 21 (Other Income) of the OECD Model is not new. However, the historical documents of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which have now been made available, throw new light on the issue. It has been argued that Article 6(4), and not Article 7(4), governs the relationship between Articles 6 and 7, therefore excluding the possibility of applying Article 7 to any income from immovable property. Therefore, it is argued, that Article 21 is the only correct distributive rule to apply in cases where the bilateral scope of Article 6 is not satisfied. This article traces the evolution of Article 6, as evidenced by the historical documents, which reveals a different intention underlying Article 6(4).

“Tropical Allsorts”: The Transnational Flavor of British Development Policies in Africa

This article explores how postwar British development in Africa was generated, transferred, and applied in the context of a series of wider networks. It examines the methods, pathways, and limits of this transnational approach to development. In the immediate postwar period, Britain had an entrenched institutional and historic knowledge of colonial governance, as well as many highly skilled practitioners with specialist knowledge of individual colonial territories. However, Britain had to enact its colonial policy within a wider context of European reconstruction and increasing American international power, as well as a growing impetus from the colonies themselves for self-government and independence. This article explores how Britain enacted colonial development policies within this series of overlapping networks, and argues that this context often—but not always—created an effective framework for development, even though British interests were often at odds with those of the other metropolitan powers. The Organisation for European Economic Cooperation and the Anglo-American “special relationship” are highlighted as specific forums within which British colonial development policy could be enacted, performed, and challenged. The article also considers some of the ongoing legacies of this networked approach to colonial development at the end of the Second World War, especially the ways in which the voices of donor countries have been prioritized over those of aid recipients.

Between Yesterday and Tomorrow: German Visions of Europe, 1926–1950, by Christian Bailey

Between Yesterday and Tomorrow: German Visions of Europe, 1926-1950, by Christian Bailey. New York, Berghahn Books, 2013. xiv, 259 pp. $95.00 US (cloth). In his fascinating political history of German visions of Europe from the 1920s through to the 1950s, Christian Bailey sets out to complicate the history of European unity. Thanks to a large and growing body of scholarship, we know a great deal about how the European Union was formed. In recent years scholars have focused on the project's extensive intergovernmental negotiations. This includes the examination of how countries manoeuvred for the advantage, the defense of perceived national interests, and the balance of making sufficient concessions to its negotiating partners to prevent the project's collapse. Bailey brings a refreshing perspective to this hard-headed realist history. An example of this is his revival of the history of ideas approach that seriously considers how politically-active Europeans conceived of a united Europe before the political agreements that serve as historical milestones: the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, the Schuman Plan, the European Coal and Steel Community, the failed European Defence Community, and the Rome Treaties. This history of ideas approach is best exemplified by the work of Walter Lipgens and his collaborators, who sought to trace the historical origins of European federalism. This method was largely abandoned because of its presumed inability to explain why European integration took the precise form it did when it did. As Bailey's study shows, there are good reasons to return to this earlier approach. Its value lies not so much in identifying the lineages of the European Union, as in making clear that Europe was not simply an instrument of international cooperation and progress for some of its most fervent proponents on both the political left and right. Perhaps the most intriguing argument in the book concerns attitudes toward parliamentary and majoritarian democracy. Bailey examines the case of the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund (ISK), a splinter group founded in the 1920s and situated between the German socialist and communist parties. He argues that the ISK leaders, several of whom would assume prominent roles in the post-war German Social Democratic Party (SPD) (among them Willi Eichler), distrusted parliamentary democracy because of their belief that the masses could be too easily manipulated. This distrust was fuelled by the breakdown of the Weimar democracy, beginning in the late 1920s, followed by the experience of the Nazi regime with its popular/plebiscitary practices. Democracy might be judged preferable to dictatorship for Germany, but it had to be a democracy capable of curbing the masses. …

Economic Regionalism and Social Stabilisation: the International Labour Organization and Western Europe in the Early Post-War Years

The International Labour Organization (ILO) played a concrete role in shaping the mechanisms of international economic co-operation created in Western Europe in the early post-war years. Its tripartite composition and orientation towards social dialogue were perfectly in tune with the productivist principles sponsored by the United States after the Second World War, which largely permeated European economic integration. Thanks to its solid know-how in the field, the ILO made a key contribution in promoting labour mobility, by helping the organisation and co-ordination of national employment services and vocational training systems and, most of all, by assisting institutions such as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) and the European Communities in implementing freedom of circulation between their member countries. At the same time, in the mid-1950s it offered theoretical support to the economic liberalism on which the European common market was being modelled, arguing against claims for social harmonisation as a precondition to economic integration, and thus contributing to giving European co-operation the shape which still characterises it today.

The Dragon Project origins, achievements and legacies

The lineage of the Dragon Project can be traced back to 1955 when the United Kingdom launched a nuclear power programme which involved the construction of large graphite moderated reactors fuelled with natural uranium and cooled by carbon dioxide. Not long afterwards the European Nuclear Energy Agency (ENEA) of the then newly formed Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), in the spirit of the time, sought to encourage the construction of nuclear power stations and the development of joint nuclear undertakings. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) had, since 1949, been studying possible long term improvements in energy conversion efficiency resulting from higher coolant gas temperatures and the use of ceramic materials. A 1955 paper on gas-cooled reactors using the U-233/thorium cycle attracted interest and this progressed to the definition of an initial programme. The high temperature work led to a proposal for a 20MW(Th) Reactor Experiment and one important consequence of the ENEA/OEEC initiative was the setting up in April 1959 of the international Dragon Project Agreement.Initial experiments at Harwell in 1957 had involved the coating of small spheroidal particles of uranium carbide or oxide with pyrolytic carbon which were then bonded with carbonaceous material. But experiments demonstrated that fission products such as caesium, strontium or barium could diffuse through such coatings. This led in 1961 to the modification of the coated particle design by the addition of an intermediate layer of silicon or zirconium carbide. The small size of the particles necessitated a statistical approach to quality during manufacture and effort was concentrated on the minimisation of the broken or defective particle fraction.The subsequent operation of the Dragon Reactor for over 10 years confirmed the benign nature of a HTR. It also proved that fuel bodies made with coated particles were capable of maintaining a high degree of fission product containment at high temperatures and for high burn-ups. What is remarkable is the speed with which the particle design evolved. The success of the choices that were made resulted in the High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor system being studied in its various forms by many countries.Irrespective of the particular core design, the basic component of HTR fuel is the coated particle. In the intervening years since the early HTRs were launched it has been realised worldwide that there are now even more factors favouring the use of high temperature reactors. They enable more efficient use of fissile isotopes as well as providing inherent reactor safety. Unlike most other reactor designs, the HTR can take economic advantage from operation at high gas outlet temperatures, whilst maintaining the good retention of fuel and fission products within the fuel elements. The fuel cycle can use uranium, thorium or plutonium. In addition the burn-up can be high, permitting safe disposal of spent fuel without the need for reprocessing. Fast reactors based on coated particle fuel may be a future possibility.The Dragon Project was a successful political collaboration and a technical triumph in demonstrating a new type of reactor. However, overstretched resources coupled with a world-wide trend in that era to favour water reactors caused work on Dragon to be terminated in March 1976. By then the main objectives for the Dragon Project had been successfully achieved and extensively reported. The progression from the 20MWE(Th) Dragon to a 1200MW(e) power station as a single jump in technology was too large a step for the time. The experiences of the other major civil HTR projects of the same period in Germany and the United States of America resulted in the high temperature reactor system being studied in its various forms by many countries as is evidenced by the large number of papers presented at the biennial HTR conferences. In the intervening years since the early HTRs were launched it has been realised that there are now even more factors favouring the use of high temperature reactors.