Spaak Report
Encyclopedia
The Spaak report or Brussels Report on the General Common Market, was the report drafted by the Spaak Committee
in 1956. The Intergovernmental Committee, headed by Paul-Henri Spaak
presented its definitive report on 21 April 1956 to the six Governments of the Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community
.
The report formed the cornerstone of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom
at Val Duchesse
in 1956 and led to the signature, on March 25, 1957, of the Treaties of Rome establishing a European Economic Community
and the European Atomic Energy Community
(Euratom).
of the economy by the gradual elimination of trade barrier
s seemed to be the way to continue. This goal was to be achieved by creating a customs union
.
On the integration of the energy
sectors, there was a different stance for nuclear energy and for hydrocarbon
energy sources (oil
, coal
). Integration of the Europe
an nuclear energy
sector was desirable due the costs involved which surpassed the financial capacity of individual states. Integration of the development of nuclear energy at a supranational level meant more efficient cost sharing for the development of nuclear energy. The integration of hydrocarbon energy sources at a supranational level was less feasible, as these energy sources were managed mainly by multinational companies. The integration of electricity
and gas
seemed irrelevant since they were distributed solely at a national level.
Spaak Committee
The Spaak Committee was an Intergovernmental Committee set up by the Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community as a result of the Messina Conference of 1955. The Spaak Committee started its work on 9 July 1955 and ended on 20 April 1956, when the Heads of...
in 1956. The Intergovernmental Committee, headed by Paul-Henri Spaak
Paul-Henri Spaak
Paul Henri Charles Spaak was a Belgian Socialist politician and statesman.-Early life:Paul-Henri Spaak was born on 25 January 1899 in Schaerbeek, Belgium, to a distinguished Belgian family. His grandfather, Paul Janson was an important member of the Liberal Party...
presented its definitive report on 21 April 1956 to the six Governments of the Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community was a six-nation international organisation serving to unify Western Europe during the Cold War and create the foundation for the modern-day developments of the European Union...
.
The report formed the cornerstone of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom
Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom
The Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom was held in Brussels and started on 26 June 1956 with a session in the Grand Salon of the Belgian Foreign Ministry. The negotiations went on at the Castle of the Valley of the Duchess in Auderghem and would continue until March 1957...
at Val Duchesse
Castle of the Valley of the Duchess
The Castle of Val-Duchesse is a former priory situated in the municipality of Auderghem in the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. The castle is owned by the Belgian Royal Trust....
in 1956 and led to the signature, on March 25, 1957, of the Treaties of Rome establishing a European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
and the European Atomic Energy Community
European Atomic Energy Community
The European Atomic Energy Community is an international organisation which is legally distinct from the European Union , but has the same membership, and is governed by the EU's institutions....
(Euratom).
Summary
The Spaak report concluded that a sector by sector integration of the European economies would be difficult. Instead a horizontal integrationHorizontal integration
In microeconomics and strategic management, the term horizontal integration describes a type of ownership and control. It is a strategy used by a business or corporation that seeks to sell a type of product in numerous markets...
of the economy by the gradual elimination of trade barrier
Trade barrier
Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. The barriers can take many forms, including the following:* Tariffs* Non-tariff barriers to trade** Import licenses** Export licenses** Import quotas** Subsidies...
s seemed to be the way to continue. This goal was to be achieved by creating a customs union
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...
.
On the integration of the energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
sectors, there was a different stance for nuclear energy and for hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
energy sources (oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
). Integration of the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
sector was desirable due the costs involved which surpassed the financial capacity of individual states. Integration of the development of nuclear energy at a supranational level meant more efficient cost sharing for the development of nuclear energy. The integration of hydrocarbon energy sources at a supranational level was less feasible, as these energy sources were managed mainly by multinational companies. The integration of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
seemed irrelevant since they were distributed solely at a national level.
See also
- Messina ConferenceMessina ConferenceThe Messina Conference was held from 1 to 3 June 1955 at the Italian city of Messina, Sicily. The conference of the Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community would lead to the creation of the European Economic Community in 1958...
- Noordwijk ConferenceNoordwijk ConferenceThe Noordwijk Conference was held in Noordwijk, near The Hague, on 6 September 1955 to evaluate the progress made by the Spaak Committee set up by the Messina Conference. The conference was attended by the Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community...
- Venice ConferenceVenice ConferenceThe Venice Conference was held in Venice on 29 and 30 May 1956. The Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community met at the Cini Foundation on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore to discuss the Spaak Report of the Spaak Committee...
- Ohlin ReportOhlin ReportThe Ohlin Report was a report drafted by a group of experts of the International Labour Organization led by Bertil Ohlin in 1956. Together with the Spaak Report it provided the basis for the Treaty of Rome on the common market in 1957 and the creation of the European Economic Community in...
Source
- Spaak Report (English summary)
- Spaak Report (French)
- Treaties of Rome, preparation
- Interview with Jean François Poncet: the importance of the Spaak Report in the Val Duchesse negotiations (Paris, 16 March 2007)