Convention on certain institutions common to the European Communities annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community. Revised version.

Excerpts from the statement made by Walter Hallstein, President of the Commission of the European Economic Community at the inaugural meeting of the Economic and Social Committee held on 19 May 1958.

On 19 May 1958, the inaugural session of the Economic and Social Committee is held in Brussels. The Europe Daily Bulletin reports on the event.

Erklärung von Louis Major, Präsident des Wirtschafts- und Sozialausschusses von 1966 bis 1968, anlässlich seiner ersten Besprechung bei der Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften nach dem Inkrafttreten des „Fusionsvertrags zur Einsetzung gemeinsamer Exekutivorgane" am 1. Juli 1967.

A historical report on the creation of the Economic and Social Committee, this article, from 1974, presents its role, its operation and its responsibilities.

In view of the imminent expiry of the ECSC Treaty in July 2002, the Economic and Social Committee delivers, for the first time, an opinion traditionally falling within the competence of the ECSC Consultative Committee.

On 28 May 2008, the European Economic and Social Committee celebrates its 50th anniversary during a commemorative plenary session. On this occasion, the Committee’s President, Dimitris Dimitriadis, refers to the importance of consultation in the European Union’s legislative process.

Speech by Jean Monnet, President of the High Authority from 1952 to 1955, delivered at the first meeting of the ECSC Consultative Committee, held on 26 January 1953 in the Hôtel de Ville, Luxembourg. In the weeks preceding the establishment of the common market in coal and steel, Jean Monnet asks, on behalf of the High Authority, for the opinion of the Consultative Committee regarding the new price systems to be introduced in the Community. The High Authority would then take decisions with a view to abolishing discrimination and protection arrangements in the six founding countries, which constitute a barrier to the movement of products.

General view of the first session of the Consultative Committee attached to the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), held in Luxembourg on 26 January 1953.

On 26 January 1973, in the Hôtel de ville, Luxembourg, the ECSC Consultative Committee commemorates the 20th anniversary of its first session. On this occasion, Karl Heinz Hawner, President of the Consultative Committee from 1972 to 1973, gives an account of the work already completed by the Committee and outlines the work still to be carried out.

At the ceremony held in Luxembourg on 26 January 1973 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first session of the ECSC Consultative Committee, the Committee’s first President, Helmuth Burckhardt, recalls the first years of the Committee.

On 1 April 1993, at the Cercle municipal in Luxembourg, the ECSC Consultative Committee commemorates the 40th anniversary of its first session, held on 26 January 1953 at Luxembourg town hall. Jacques Santer, Luxembourg Prime Minister from 1984 to 1995, delivers a speech during the ceremony.

Proposal by Enrico Gibellieri, President of the ECSC Consultative Committee, that the Consultative Committee, as the Paris Treaty expires in July 2002, be incorporated into the European Economic and Social Committee through the creation of a ‘Steel and Coal Consultative Committee’.

The expiry of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community on 23 July 2002 leads to the dissolution of the ECSC Consultative Committee. The Economic and Social Committee (ESC), as the ‘natural successor’ to the Consultative Committee, takes over its powers and responsibilities regarding structured dialogue in the coal and steel sectors. A new ‘consultative commission’ is created within the ESC with a view to dealing with industrial issues linked to the former ECSC sectors and, in general, those linked to industrial conversion in any other economic sector, particularly in the light of enlargement.

The final working session of the Consultative Committe of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) is held on 26 June 2002 in Luxembourg. Its responsibilities are transferred to the Economic and Social Committee (ESC). When the ECSC Treaty expires on 23 July 2002, the financial reserves of the first European Community are to be used for research in the coal and steel industries.

Address by Göke Frerichs, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), on the occasion of the formal session of the Consultative Committee of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) of 27 June 2002. Following the expiry of the ECSC Treaty, the work of the ECSC must be continued by the EESC.

On 27 June 2002, Enrico Gibellieri, the last President of the Conultative Committee of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), delivers an address on the occasion of the formal session to bring the Committee’s work to a close and to mark the expiry of the ECSC Treaty 50 years after it came into force.

Photo taken during the formal session to bring the ECSC Consultative Committee's work to a close and to mark the expiry of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community 50 years after it came into force.