Fouchet Plan
Encyclopedia
Introduction
The Fouchet Plan was a plan proposed by President Charles de GaulleCharles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1961. It was written by Christian Fouchet
Christian Fouchet
Christian Fouchet was a French politician.He was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines.He was the French Minister of National Education from 28 November 1962 to 6 April 1967. He was the colonial head of Algeria from 19 March 1962 to 3 July 1962....
, France's ambassador to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The idea was to form a new 'Union of States', an intergovernmental
Intergovernmental
Intergovernmental can refer to:*Intergovernmentalism*Intergovernmental Risk Pool*Intergovernmental organization...
alternative to the European Communities
European Communities
The European Communities were three international organisations that were governed by the same set of institutions...
. De Gaulle feared a loss of French national influence in the European Communities, which at the time was becoming more and more supranational, so the Plan was an attempt to keep the balance of power in France’s favor. Due to the success of the European Communities and the lack of enthusiasm of other states for this idea, the Fouchet Plan was never implemented.
First Draft
The first draft of The Fouchet Plan was proposed in 1961. The plan called for a “Union of the European peoples” “without supranational institutions.” It is divided into five sections (“Titles I – V”), summarized below. Title I outlines the “aims” of the Union. Title II describes the institutions, their composition, and their various powers and relationships to one another. Title III describes the “Obligations of Member States”. Title IV describes the Finances of the Union, and Title V describes General provisions.Title I – Union of the European peoples
The plan set forth two major aims of the Union: a common foreign policy and a common defense policy. Other aims of the Union were the development of the “common heritage” of the Member States and “the protection of the values on which their civilization rests”.Title II – Institutions
The plan proposed three institutions of the Union: a “Council”, a “European Parliament”, and a “European Political Commission.”The Council would deliberate on questions posed by Member States and adopt decisions unanimously. However, if one or two members are absent, it would “not prevent a decision from being taken.” The Council would meet twice every four months, once at the Head of State or Government level and once at the Foreign Minister level. De Gaulle proposed that the decisions of the council be binding on Member States, but did not propose a method of enforcement. Should a Member State abstain from the adoption of a decision, that decision would not be enforced on that state. However, these states would be able to opt in at any time.
The parliament would deliberate “on matters concerning the aims of the Union”, as outlined in Title I, Article II. It would submit recommendations and would address oral or written questions to the Council. The Council would be free to act independently of the parliament, but must reply to parliament recommendations within four months.
The main role of the Political Commission of the Union would be to assist the Council by preparing its deliberations, carrying out its decisions, and performing the duties the Council entrusts to it. The Commission would consist of “senior officials of the Foreign Affairs departments of each Member State.”
Title III – Obligations of Member States
Title III called for cooperation between the Member States, mandating that they work towards the aims of the Union.Title IV – Finances of the Union
The budget of the Union would be “drawn up by the Council each year”, and would be funded by contributions from the Member States. Article 13 lays out the proportional contribution of each Member State at the time.Title V – General provisions
Title V lays out how amendments should be made to the Plan, how they would be ratified, provisions for admission of new Member states, and other standard details.Fouchet Plan: Second Draft
A second draft of the Fouchet plan was proposed when it appeared that the first would prove unsuccessful. Some concessions would have to be made in terms of what de Gaulle wanted for the union, its structure, and the French role.Much like the original Fouchet plan, the second draft continued to push for intergovernmental structures. It highlighted the importance of the individual member states. The second draft aimed at common interests among certain states, rather than ensuring their close cooperation in predetermined fields.
The second draft also called for a structural change through the addition of Committees of Ministers. Two committees are explicitly mentioned: a committee for foreign affairs and a committee for education. These two groups were to meet four times a year and would be under the supervision of the proposed council. The council would also be able to create new committees when they deemed it necessary.
Lastly, although it is not emphasized, France’s role was slightly diminished and the European Political Commission would no longer meet in Paris.
Fouchet Plan : Charles De Gaulle's Role
The driving political force behind the Fouchet Plan was French President Charles de Gaulle. Concerned about the growing supranational tendencies of the European Economic CommunityEuropean 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...
, he sought to implement a new intergovernmental vision of cooperation which would put decision-making power back into the hands of the nation-states.
After convincing the other five heads of state to agree to regular meetings, de Gaulle pushed the idea of further political cooperation. Headed by the French ambassador to Denmark, Christian Fouchet, a committee assembled to discuss the French recommendations. All of the suggestions put forward increased the intergovernmental nature of the organization, but the first draft of the plan also included a provision for a common foreign policy. This last aspect is especially telling: while the rest of “The Six” valued their membership in NATO, de Gaulle made no effort to hide his hostility towards it and what he considered to be undue American influence in Europe.
Konrad AdenauerKonrad AdenauerKonrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
’s View of the Fouchet Plan
In 1959, when de Gaulle began to focus his attention away from FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and more on Europe as a whole, he began to propose more regular meetings of the six member states. He also suggested that the meetings be backed by a secretariat. West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in particular looked favorably on these proposals. However, when de Gaulle first introduced the Fouchet Plan in 1961, it faced opposition from many of the member states. Adenauer and de Gaulle had a close relationship and during de Gaulle’s term in office, Franco-German relations improved significantly. However Adenauer and his Dutch counterparts were worried that the Fouchet Plan would divert power from the EEC
EEC
EEC is an abbreviation that usually refers to the European Economic Community, the forerunner to the European Union.It may also refer to;* The East Erie Commercial Railroad, a shortline in Pennsylvania...
and NATO. West Germany was also opposed to de Gaulle’s idea that the plans be ratified by popular referendum on the grounds that it was not constitutional. Despite Adenauer’s friendship with de Gaulle, West Germany was never convinced that the Fouchet Plan was the best course of action. However, though the plan fell through, Adenauer and de Gaulle were able to establish the Treaty of Friendship
Treaty of Friendship
The Treaty of Friendship is a common generic name for any treaty establishing close ties between countries. For example:* 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship* Élysée Treaty...
in 1963 to strengthen ties between France and West Germany. This agreement would not only be beneficial to the French and West Germans, but also the entire EEC.
Benelux Reaction to the Fouchet Plan
BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, collectively known as Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
, were against the Fouchet Plan. They were afraid that the proposal removed too much power from the Commission, the supranational governing body, and would rely heavily on intergovernmentalism. They worried that the Fouchet Plan would weaken the Treaty of Rome
Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, was an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany...
and would be a step away from integration. The downgrade in power would have afforded France more opportunity to influence the other nations. Benelux feared that this would allow de Gaulle and France to dominate the EEC and push issues important to their own national interests.
A second main issue was the speed with which France was trying to force the plan through. The Benelux countries thought that a decision of this magnitude should be deferred until after Britain’s accession talks, which started in 1961, were completed. De Gaulle had been speaking closely with German Chancellor Adenauer at this time and Benelux worried that the collaboration of the two countries would shift the power of an intergovernmental organization towards France and West Germany. British accession would have balanced the power structure within the EEC more equally and would not have allowed France to dominate the talks.
The Netherlands in particular thought that the Fouchet Plan was an attempt to subvert the power of NATO. The Plan’s common defense policy would have directly conflicted with NATO’s mission and directives, so the Netherlands worried that the plan was an attempt to weaken NATO’s influence and to reassert France as a military power.
Fouchet Plan Literature
Bloes, Robert. “Le ‘Plan Fouchet’ et le Problème de l'Europe Politique.” Studies in Contemporary European Issues 5. Brussels: College of Europe. (1970): 538.Camps, Miriam. “The Six and Political Union” The World Today 20.11 (Nov., 1964): 473-480.
Moravcsik, Andrew. “De Gaulle Between Grain and Grandeur: The Political Economy of French EC Policy, 1958-1970.” Journal of Cold War Studies 2.2 (2000): 3-43.
Moravcsik, Andrew. “Beyond Grain and Grandeur: An Answer to Critics and an Agenda for Future Research.” Journal of Cold War Studies 2.3 (2000): 117-142.
Vanke, Jeffrey W. “An Impossible Union: Dutch Objections to the Fouchet Plan, 1959-62.” Cold War History 2.1 (2001): 95.
Links
For the First Draft:http://www.cvce.eu/obj/draft_treaty_fouchet_plan_november_1961-en-485fa02e-f21e-4e4d-9665-92f0820a0c22
For the Second Draft:
http://www.cvce.eu/obj/draft_treaty_fouchet_plan_ii_18_january_1962-en-c9930f55-7d69-4edc-8961-4f12cf7d7a5b
DeGaulle:
http://www.german-times.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=12
Adenauer
http://www.german-times.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=33
General Background: http://en.vionto.com/show/me/Fouchet+Plan