Fouchet Plan

The Fouchet Plan was a plan proposed by President Charles de Gaulle of France in 1961 as part of De Gaulle's grand design for Europe at the time. His plan included a three-power directorate, consisting of France, Britain and the United States. His plan also included the Fouchet Plan. It was written by Christian Fouchet, France's ambassador to Denmark. The idea was to form a new 'Union of States', an intergovernmental alternative to the European Communities. De Gaulle feared a loss of French national influence in the European Communities, which was becoming more and more supranational so the Plan was an attempt to keep the balance of power in France's favor. The success of the European Communities and the lack of enthusiasm of other states for the idea stopped the implementation of the Fouchet Plan.

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.

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”.

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.

...
Wikipedia