The "Six" - France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands - sign the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and
Steel Community which comes into force in 1954.
The treaty is based on French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman's 1950
declaration that coal and steel resources should be pooled to avoid
European countries waging war on one another.
The key European institutions also emerge at this time. The High
Authority - which will later become the European Commission - is set up
with Jean Monnet, the inspiration for the Schuman declaration, as its
president. The treaty also establishes the Common Assembly - later the
European Parliament - as well as the Council of Ministers and the Court of
Justice.
A year later the Six also sign the European Defence Community (EDC)
treaty in Paris. But after only two years the EDC collapses causing Jean
Monnet to resign from the High Authority.