Abstract

The Schuman Plan was enthusiastically endorsed by the Benelux countries, France, Germany, and Italy, but the United Kingdom declined to participate, refusing to accept the supranational role of the projected High Authority. The treaty Establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was signed in Paris on 18 April 1951. The European Economic Community (EEC) has provided the core framework for the process of European integration. The Single European Act (SEA) also inserted into the EEC Treaty a number of specific new legal bases for Community action. The treaty provisions were superseded by the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which provides the legal basis for the common foreign and security policy (CFSP). The Reform Treaty was to shed the form, language, and symbols of a European Constitution in favor of having another amending treaty, similar in nature to the SEA, Treaty of Amsterdam (TA), or Treaty of Nice (TN).