On 9 May 1950, the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, invites Germany and other interested European states to place their iron and steel production under the authority of a supranational European institution. As Schuman’s address could not be recorded on 9 May 1950, the Minister had to take part in a re-enactment of the event for posterity.

On 20 June 1950, in the Salon de l’Horloge at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris, Robert Schuman (standing, centre), French Foreign Minister, opens the intergovernmental negotiations for the implementation of the Schuman Plan. This photo is generally used to illustrate the press conference of 9 May 1950, at which no photographs were taken.

On 9 May 1950, the declaration made in the Salon de l’Horloge at the French Foreign Ministry by the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, marks the decisive starting point for European integration.

In his memoirs, Robert Schuman, former French Foreign Minister, recalls the reasons behind his commitment to a European coal and steel pool and his decision to take on the political responsibility for such a project.