European Coal and Steel Community

This project focuses on the specific case of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and its influence on European governance. The ECSC, created in 1952, is often considered as the first major precursor of today's European Union. Despite being officially liquidated only in 2002 when its contractual basis expired, the ECSC suffered from a lack of consideration long before that, beginning in 1967 when its most important institutions were merged with those of the EEC and Euratom.

Little is known about the ECSC's last years, and even less about its demise process and its impact on EU’s governance. Combining private and public archives, this PhD project will focus on ECSC-related ideas, persons, and practices and assess how they effectively did leave a mark on European governance.