TheEurope Declaration, also known as theCharter of the Community, was a joint statement issued by the Foreign Ministers ofBelgium,France,Italy,Luxembourg, theNetherlands, andWest Germany in 1951. The Declaration was issued at the signing of theTreaty of Paris, which created theEuropean Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) based on theSchuman Plan, on 18 April 1951.
The Europe Declaration said that the ECSC marked the birth of Europe as a political, economic and social entity, reflecting the principles thatRobert Schuman had announced in theSchuman Declaration of 1950. It included the statement:
"By the signature of this Treaty, the involved parties give proof of their determination to create the firstsupranational institution and that thus they are laying the true foundation of an organised Europe. This Europe remains open to all European countries that have freedom of choice. We profoundly hope that other countries will join us in our common endeavour."[1]
The Declaration was signed byKonrad Adenauer (West Germany),Joseph Bech (Luxembourg),Robert Schuman (France),Count Carlo Sforza (Italy),Dirk Stikker andJan van den Brink (Netherlands), andPaul van Zeeland andJoseph Meurice (Belgium). It was intended to remindfuture generations of their historic duty of uniting Europe based on liberty and democracy under therule of law. Thus, the signers viewed the declaration as an important first step in the development of an integrated Europe.