The Move for European Reunification

For hundreds of years, there has been an ongoing effort to unify Europe. Prior to World War II, because of intermarriage between Royal families, all crowned heads were closely related [yet these alliances were unstable --ed]. French philosopher Montesquieu said in the 18th century: "Whenever in the past Europe has been united by force, the unity lasted no longer than the space of a single reign." He went on to predict the peaceful unification of Europe. In 1871, Victor Hugo, the French novelist, said: "Let us have the United States of Europe; let us have continental federation; let us have European freedom."

In 1922, Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi founded the Pan European Union. He fled Austria in 1940 and came to the United States, where he continued to work towards European unity. In 1941, Andre Malraux called for a "European New Deal, a federal Europe excluding the USSR."

[For more, see article: Synarchism --ed]

In an October, 1942 letter to the British War Cabinet, Winston Churchill wrote: "Hard as it is to say now, I trust that the European family may act unitedly as one under a Council of Europe. I look forward to a United States of Europe." He also said in a September 19, 1946 speech at the University of Zurich: "We must build a kind of United States of Europe."

Western European Unity after World War II

Lord James Edward Salisbury, the conservative British statesman, said: "Federation is the only hope of the world." The historic address on June 5, 1947, by Gen. George C. Marshall, the Secretary of State, which made proposals for European aid known as the Marshall Plan also called for the unification of Europe.

Winston Churchill made the United Europe Movement a cohesive group, by merging the Union of European Federalists, the Economic League for European Cooperation, and the French Council for a United Europe, into an organization known as the International Committee of Movements for European Unity. Late in 1947, various people and groups formed a committee to coordinate their efforts, and by May, 1948, organized the Congress of Europe, which convened at the Hague in the Netherlands. Nearly 1000 prominent Europeans from 16 countries called for the establishment of a United Europe.

Dr. Joseph Retinger, who had helped organized the meeting at the Hague, came to the United States in July, 1948, along with Winston Churchill, Duncan Sandys, and former Belgian Prime Minister Henri-Paul Spaak, to raise money for the movement. This led to the establishment of the American Committee on a United Europe (ACUE) on March 29, 1949. Their first Chairman was William Donovan, the first Director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA; the Vice-Chairman was Allen Dulles, who later became the Director of the CIA; and the Secretary was George S. Franklin, who was a Director in the Council on Foreign Relations, and later a coordinator with the Trilateral Commission.

On March 17, 1948, a 50 year treaty was signed in Brussels for "collaboration in economic, social, and cultural matters and for collective self defense" by England, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In 1950, its functions were transferred to NATO. The Western European Coalition began on June 8, 1948, with the signing of the Benelux Agreement by Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, to unite their economic and domestic policies.

On May 5, 1949, Foreign Ministers from ten European countries signed a treaty in London for the purpose of working for "greater European unity, to improve the conditions of life and principle human value in Europe and to uphold the principles of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and human rights." The treaty sought to promote unity, both socially and economically. The Council of Europe, led by a Secretary-General, is open to all European States which accepted the "principles of the rule of law and of the enjoyment by all persons within (their) jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms." They are headquartered in Strasbourg, France (Avenue de l'Europe). Among its founding members were: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, England, Greece, Turkey, and Iceland. It now has 45 member states.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the father of the Common Market, was a defense alliance developed to implement the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, and to apply counter pressure against the growing Soviet military presence in Europe. Article V states:

"The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an attack occurs, each of them ... will assist the Party or Parties so attacked ... to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic Area."

Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, West Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, and the United States, all joined to oppose the growing threat of communism. Soon afterwards, the Russians, recognizing NATO as a stumbling block to their plans, emulated the group by uniting their communist satellites in 1955 with the Warsaw Treaty Organization. The Warsaw Pact alliance included the countries of Albania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Russia.

In 1950, Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister, came up with an idea to integrate all the coal and steel industries of the western European nations; and in 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up with six member countries: Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. An independent body known as the 'High Authority' was able to make decisions in regard to the industries in those countries. Their first President was the French economist and diplomat Jean Monnet, called the 'Father of Europe.'

On May 27, 1952, the European Defense Community Treaty was signed in Paris, and provided for the armies of West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, to become closely aligned with England's. In May, 1955, the Council of Western European Union was established, made up of the foreign ministers from [those countries] who met every three months. There was also a Western European Union Assembly made up of delegates to the Consultive Assembly of the Council of Europe in Paris.

Jean Monnet said: "As long as Europe remains divided, it is no match for the Soviet Union. Europe must unite." He established a pressure group in 1955 called the Action Committee for the United States of Europe. He also said: "Once a Common Market interest has been created, then political union will come naturally."

The European Community

On March 25, 1957, the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC) were established with a 378-page Declaration of Intent, called the Treaty of Rome, to facilitate the removal of barriers, so trade could be accomplished among member nations; eventual coordination of transportation systems, agricultural and economic policies; the removal of all measures restricting free competition; and the assurance of the mobility of labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. The partnership began with six countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. George McGhee, the former U.S. ambassador to West Germany, said that "the Treaty of Rome, which brought the Common Market into being, was nurtured at the Bilderberg meetings." [which had begun in 1954].

In 1967, the ECSC, EURATOM, and EEC were brought together into a single group that was known as the European Community [or the "Common Market"].

In 1973, Henry Kissinger, Nixon's Secretary of State (known to favor one-world government) urged the Common Market to include four more nations: Norway, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Ireland. Norway eventually backed out, but on May 28, 1979, Greece became the tenth nation to join the Common Market. When it officially became a member in January, 1981, Europe was as unified as it had been [since the time of Emperor Charlemagne].

A French foreign minister said: "The Europe of the future, when it finally unites politically as well as economically, will be the mightiest force on earth." Walter Hallstein said: "Make no mistake about it, we are not in business, we are in politics. We are building the United States of Europe." Time magazine wrote: "If the Europe of tomorrow could muster the political will, it could become a co-equal of the other two superpowers, the United States and Russia..." Another publication said: "The European Common Market is emerging to shake the world economically and politically." England's former Prime Minister, Edward Heath, said: "Europe must unite or perish."

On March 17, 1979, the Common Market initiated a new monetary system to encourage trade and investment by stabilizing their currency values in relation to each other. The main feature of this link-up was a $33 billion fund made up of each other's gold and currency reserves. Members could borrow against this fund to support their own currencies. The value of each of the participating currencies was set against "European Currency Units" established by the fund.

Another huge step was taken toward a united Europe when a direct-election was held June 7-9, 1979 that elected a 410 member European Parliament, the first in over 1,000 years. It was made up of members from the countries of Great Britain, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Luxembourg. On January 1, 1986, Spain and Portugal became the 11th and 12th members of the European Community.

The European Union

On November 11, 1991, Jeane Kirkpatrick, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., wrote:

"If the Bush Administration has a vision of the New World Order, it is time to share it with the Europeans and Americans, because a New World Order is precisely what is emerging on the continent of Europe today."

On December 9-11, 1991, at a meeting in Maastricht in the Netherlands, a serious effort was made to establish a common currency, and discussions were held concerning a common foreign policy, and a common defense policy. After the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, the Common Market became known as the European Union.

On December 31, 1992, the "Single Europe Act" went into effect, uniting the 12 nations into a federation and lifting the restrictions on the movement of goods, services, capital, workers and tourists within the Community. They also adopted common agricultural, fisheries, and nuclear research policies. Jacques Delors, in the Delors Report, a blueprint for EC unification, called for a "transfer of decision-making power from member states to the community."

On January 1, 1995, Austria became the 13th member nation.

With the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997, the [European parliament] now possesses actual legislative authority. The parliament now includes 626 members, headquartered in Strasbourg, France, [with offices in] Brussels, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The European Union (located at Rue de la Loi, Brussels, Belgium) is now made up of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Irish Republic, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It had been reported that the EU was looking to have a total of 20 member nations, yet in 2004 they are adding Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

After deciding in 1992 to move towards a single European currency controlled by a European Central Bank; that currency, known as the 'euro,' emerged in 2002, when euro notes and coins replaced the national currencies of 12 of the 15 countries of the European Union.

The industrial capability of the European Union is nearly equal to that of the United States. Western Europe also accounts for about 25% of the world's production, and 35% of its trade. When the time comes, and it surely will, that the people of the European Union finally allow themselves to become a single political entity, they will be a world power and a force to be reckoned with.