The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was the first and most notable post-war supranational community advancing the process of European integration. It is also the only such community which ceased to exist after 50 years, as laid down in its founding treaty. Based on archival research, this article reviews the discussion on the future of the ECSC Treaty within the European institutions held at the beginning of the 1990s, which confirmed the expiry date of 2002. It challenges the view, expressed even within European institutions, that the Treaty expired because of outdated legal provisions, as these were in fact still used and applied in the 1980s, especially during the European steel crisis. However, this discussion produced no compelling reason why the European coal and steel industries should not be integrated into the general EU common market after 2002, also in view of the upcoming enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe. In fact, even after its disappearance, the ECSC's financial legacy continued to contribute to EU policy objectives.

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领跑者的悄无声息的结局：欧洲煤钢共同体的终结


欧洲煤钢共同体 （ECSC） 是战后第一个也是最著名的推动欧洲一体化进程的超国家共同体。它也是唯一一个在其创始条约中规定的 50 年后不复存在的社区。基于档案研究，本文回顾了 1990 年代初欧洲机构内部关于 ECSC 条约未来的讨论，该条约确认了 2002 年的到期日期。它挑战了甚至在欧洲机构内部表达的观点，即该条约到期是因为过时的法律条款，因为这些条款实际上在 1980 年代仍在使用和适用，尤其是在欧洲钢铁危机期间。然而，这一讨论并没有产生令人信服的理由，说明欧洲煤炭和钢铁行业在 2002 年后不应该被整合到欧盟共同市场，这也是考虑到即将到来的向中欧和东欧的扩张。事实上，即使在它消失之后，ECSC 的财务遗产仍然为欧盟的政策目标做出贡献。