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 The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxemb ...

(ECSC) as a result of the

Messina Conference The Messina Conference of 1955 was a meeting of the six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The conference assessed the progress of the ECSC and, deciding that it was working well, proposed further European integratio ...

of 1955. The Spaak Committee started its work on 9 July 1955 and ended on 20 April 1956, when the Heads of Delegation of the six Member States of the ECSC approved the Spaak report. The committee worked on two main topics, one was the creation of a general common market and the other one was the establishment of a European Community for the peaceful use of atomic energy. The steering committee was composed of

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the ...

, the six heads of delegation from the ECSC member states and a representative, Russell Frederick Bretherton, of the United Kingdom. The different committees examined the

common market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

, investments and

social issues A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...

, conventional energy, nuclear energy and public transport and

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

. In addition several highly specialised subcommittees would then be set up, depending on the topics raised, which might relate to either

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

matters. The common market was the core issue of the committee, although the question of agriculture also arose. In addition transportation and conventional energy were also to be dealt with. By November 1955 the focus of the committee was on the establishment of the common market by abolition of

trade barriers Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. According to the theory of comparative advantage, trade barriers are detrimental to the world economy and decrease overall economic efficiency. Most trade barriers work ...

, customs arrangements with third countries, social and financial harmonisation and the establishment of common institutions. On 6 September 1955 at the

Noordwijk Conference {{EU history The 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 ...

, Spaak presented an interim report. In October 1955 the United Kingdom decided to leave the Spaak Committee as the UK opposed a customs union and did not want to submit its atomic research program to Euratom. On 25 September 1955 the Treaty of Association between the ECSC and the United Kingdom was already enough for the UK. Russell Bretherton left the committee on 7 November 1955. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the ECSC convened in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

on 11 and 12 February 1956 to take the final decisions. The Spaak ReportSpaak report
/ref> was then published in April 1956. The Spaak report was presented to the foreign ministers of the six Member States of the ECSC on 21 April 1956 and at the Venice conference one month later. The Spaak report was approved at the

Venice Conference {{EU history The 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 San Giorgio Monastery, Cini Foundation on the Venetian island of San Gio ...

on 29 and 30 May 1956 and was used as the basis for discussion in the work of the

Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom {{EU history 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 Château of Val-Duc ...

from July 1956 which met at the

Château of Val-Duchesse The Château of Val-Duchesse (french: Château de Val-Duchesse, nl, Kasteel van Hertoginnedal) is a mansion and estate situated in the municipality of Auderghem in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. The château, which occupies the site o ...

. This would lead to the

Treaties of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sign ...

being signed in 1957 which established the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

(EEC) and the

European Atomic Energy Community The European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) is an international organisation established by the Euratom Treaty on 25 March 1957 with the original purpose of creating a specialist market for nuclear power in Europe, by developing nucl ...

(Euratom) among the members of the ECSC.

References

{{reflist

Sources

The Spaak Committee
on CVCE website (EU)

on CVCE website (EU)

(Brussels, 26 March 1997) on CVCE website * W. Maas, ''The Genesis of European Rights'', JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 43 (5), 1009–1025. History of the European Union

See also

References

Sources