History, European Cooperation

The 1950s were marked by the concentrated effort of European leaders to effect a politico-economic union of the Western European nations. Taking an active role in this movement, Belgium, along with France, West Germany (now part of the Federal Republic of Germany), Luxembourg, Italy, and The Netherlands, became a charter member of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1952. When France refused to ratify the treaty establishing the European Defense Community in 1954, Belgian Foreign Minister Paul Henri Spaak initiated the second “launching of Europe.” His efforts were instrumental in the founding in 1957 of the European Economic Community (EEC). Brussels became the seat of its governing commission and much of its bureaucracy, reflecting the key role that Spaak played in shaping the new European order. That same year the nation became a member of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). In 1967 the ECSC, the EEC, and Euratom merged to form the European Community, now called the European Union.