Founding Fathers of the EU

The European Union describes the founding fathers of Europe as a group of personalities who acted as pioneers of European integration and shaped the history of the European Union .

image	Surname	country	description
	Konrad Adenauer	West Germany	First Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949–1963). Initiator of Franco-German reconciliation together with Charles de Gaulle . The Élysée Treaty signed by both of them on January 22nd, 1963 established Franco-German cooperation.
	Joseph Bech	Luxembourg	Joseph Bech was one of the signatories of the Benelux Treaty . In the post-war phase, he was actively involved in the European integration process in his various government offices. He is considered a co-founder of the Coal and Steel Community and took part in the Messina Conference in June 1955, which formulated the intention to establish the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European single market . In 1957 the Treaty of Rome (EURATOM Treaty and Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC)) were signed.
	Johan Willem Beyen	Netherlands	As Dutch Foreign Minister, Beyen played a key role in the creation of the European Economic Community.
	Winston Churchill	United Kingdom	The British Prime Minister (1940–1945 and 1951–1955) made the concept of the United States of Europe known as the guarantor of peace.
	Alcide De Gasperi	Italy	Italian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from 1945 to 1953; shaped the political development of Italy in the post-war years. He was actively involved in building the coal and steel union.
	Walter Hallstein	West Germany	The Treaty establishing the European Community (the Treaty) was significantly helped design Hallstein. In 1958 he was elected the first President of the Commission of the European Economic Community.
	Sicco Mansholt	Netherlands	Elected in 1958 as one of the commissioners of the newly formed European Commission and Vice-President of the EEC Commission. After the transition from the EEC to the EC, Mansholt was Vice President of the EC Commission and was President of the European Commission for seven months in 1972 and 1973 . As an agricultural politician, largely responsible for the development of the common agricultural policy .
	Jean Monnet	France	Honorary Citizen of Europe . Creator of the Schuman Plan , 1952–1955 President of the High Authority of the Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), co-founder and chairman of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE) 1955–1975.
	Robert Schuman	France	French Foreign Minister (1948–1952), together with Jean Monnet, prepared the way for the creation of the coal and steel union with the Schumann Plan. 1958 President of the European Parliament .
	Paul-Henri Spaak	Belgium	1946 President of the first UN General Assembly . 1949–1951 Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe . 1950–1955 head of the International Council of the European Movement. 1952–1954 President of the Common Assembly of the ECSC. 1955 Chairman of a committee at the Messina Conference whose “Spaak Report” prepared the Treaty of Rome. 1957–1961 NATO Secretary General .
	Altiero Spinelli	Italy	Significantly involved in the draft of a contract for the establishment of the European Union, named after him "Spinelli draft" . This was adopted by the European Parliament in 1984 and influenced the design of the EU treaties in the 1980s and 1990s.

literature

• Robert Schuman et les Pères de l'Europe - Cultures politiques et années de formation . In: Sylvain Schirmann (Ed.): Publications de la Maison de Robert Schuman . tape 1 . PIE Peter Lang, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 978-90-5201-423-4 .
• The founding fathers of the EU. European Commission, accessed October 25, 2018 . 

Individual evidence

1. ^ The founding fathers of the EU. European Union, accessed October 25, 2018 . 
2. ^ Paul F. Smets and Mathieu Ryckewaert (eds.): Les Pères de l'Europe: Cinquante ans après, perspectives sur l'engagement européen . Bruylant, 2001, ISBN 978-2-8027-1443-9 .
3. ↑ Gérard Bossuat: Les fondateurs de l'Europe . Belin, 1994, ISBN 978-2-7011-1448-4 .