Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community

Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community. It was the first international parliamentary assembly in history to be directly elected by universal suffrage, serving as the deliberative body of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Established by the Treaty of Paris (1951), it brought together parliamentarians from the six founding states to debate the policies of the supranational High Authority. Its creation marked a foundational step toward the parliamentary dimension of European integration, directly influencing the development of the modern European Parliament.

History and establishment

The Common Assembly was formally established under Article 20 of the Treaty of Paris (1951), which was signed by the six founding members: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Its inaugural session was held in Strasbourg on 10 September 1952, following the treaty's entry into force in July of that year. The assembly's creation was a direct political innovation proposed by figures like Altiero Spinelli and Jean Monnet, who sought to provide democratic oversight for the new supranational High Authority led by Jean Monnet. This development was closely watched by other European institutions, including the Council of Europe, with which it initially shared facilities and some personnel in Strasbourg.

Composition and membership

The assembly was composed of 78 delegates appointed annually from among the members of the national parliaments of the six member states. Seats were allocated roughly according to population: France, Germany, and Italy each had 18 delegates, Belgium and the Netherlands had 10 each, and Luxembourg had 4. Notable early members included its first president, Paul-Henri Spaak of Belgium, and influential figures like Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi. Delegates did not sit in national blocs but formed political groups based on ideology, such as the Christian Democratic Group and the Socialist Group, a precedent for the modern European Parliament.

Powers and functions

The assembly's primary power, granted by the Treaty of Paris (1951), was to debate the annual General Report submitted by the High Authority and to pass a motion of censure by a two-thirds majority, which would force the High Authority's collective resignation. Although it could not initiate legislation, it exercised significant influence through debates, questions, and reports. It also gave opinions on the appointment of the President of the High Authority and members of the ECSC Court of Justice. Its work was supported by committees, such as those for political affairs and economic questions, which scrutinized the activities of the European Coal and Steel Community.

Role in European integration

The Common Assembly played a crucial role as a laboratory for supranational parliamentary practice. It actively advocated for its own expansion of powers and for the broader political integration of Europe. Key debates within the assembly, often led by federalists like Altiero Spinelli, pushed for the creation of a European Political Community following the failure of the European Defence Community. Its existence and procedures directly informed the drafting of the Treaties of Rome, which established the European Economic Community and Euratom. The assembly's practice of forming transnational political groups profoundly shaped the political culture of subsequent European institutions.

Dissolution and legacy

With the entry into force of the Treaties of Rome on 1 January 1958, the Common Assembly was dissolved. Its members were reconstituted on 19 March 1958 into the new European Parliamentary Assembly, which served all three European Communities. This new assembly, meeting in the same Hemicycle in Strasbourg, inherited the Common Assembly's members, procedures, and institutional memory, directly evolving into the modern European Parliament. The Common Assembly's legacy is that of the direct progenitor of the only directly elected supranational parliament in the world, having established the foundational principles of transnational parliamentary democracy and oversight that define the European Union today.

Category:European Parliament Category:European Coal and Steel Community Category:Defunct unicameral legislatures Category:1952 establishments in Europe Category:1958 disestablishments in Europe