- BeNeLux memorandum, 1955
The BeNeLux memorandum of
1955 was drafted by the threeBeNeLux countries on18 May 1955 as a means to reviving European integration on the basis of a generalcommon market .Background
The failure of the
European Defence Community (EDC) and theEuropean Political Community , brought the process of European integration to a standstill in1954 . At that momentJohan Willem Beyen (Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs) took the initiative to revive an idea, based on theOuchy Convention of1932 , he had already put forward in December 1952 and February 1953 for theEuropean Political Community (EPC). He proposed that the member states of theEuropean Coal and Steel Community would develop acommon market without customs duties or import quotas instead of a sector-based integration which had been the option taken by the ECSC [ [http://www.ena.lu/europe/european-revival-rome-treaties/beyen-plan.htm The Beyen Plan] ] . Beyen sent a memorandum to hisBeNeLux colleaguesPaul-Henri Spaak (Belgium ) andJoseph Bech (Luxembourg ) on4 April 1955 in which he proposed his idea of a customs union [ [http://padis2.uniroma1.it:81/ojs/index.php/rspi/article/viewPDFInterstitial/191/176 Winning the Peace: “Lost Treasure” of European Integration?, p.465] ] [Robert Marjolin, Europe in search of its identity (New York, Council on Foreign Relations, 1981), 37] .The three Foreign Ministers of the BeNeLux met in
The Hague on23 April 1955 . Based on the Beyen memorandum and a memorandum ofJean Monnet (nuclear energy ) they drafted a joint memorandum to present to their colleagues of theEuropean Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). They finalized the memorandum on18 May 1955 and presented it to the governments ofFrance , Germany andItaly on20 May 1955 . They proposed to hold an international conference to prepare integration in the fields mentioned in the memorandum, and to discuss the way towards a general integration of theEuropean economy .ummary
In the memorandum the BeNeLux proposed the establishment of an an Economic Community based on a general
common market and a sectoral approach for transport and energy, especiallynuclear energy (the last was in the line of the approach taken with the ECSC). The common market was to be achieved by a gradual reduction of trade restriction and custom tarifs. Besides the economic domain the memorandum proposed an integration also at the social and financial domain. In addition they proposed the creation of a joint (supranational ) independent authority.Outcome
The Common Assembly of the
European Coal and Steel Community assembled on14 May 1955 decided that at theMessina Conference to be held later that month they would discuss the way to move forward towards European integration.References
ource
* [http://www.ena.lu/europe/european-revival-rome-treaties/benelux-memorandum.htm Benelux memorandum (18 May 1955)]
* [http://www.ena.lu/europe/european-revival-rome-treaties/netherlands-foreign-minister-ecsc-partners-1953.htm Letter from the Netherlands Foreign Minister to his ECSC partners] (14 February 1953)
* [http://www.ena.lu/europe/european-revival-rome-treaties/beyen-plan.htm The Beyen Plan]
* Raymond F. Mikesell, The Lessons of Benelux and the European Coal and Steel Community for the European Economic Community, The American Economic Review, Vol. 48, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Seventieth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association (May, 1958), pp. 428-441
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