Founding fathers of the European Union

The founding fathers of the European Union are 11 men officially recognised as major contributors to European unity and the development of what is now the European Union.

Of the 11 in total, sometimes emphasised are three pioneers of unification: Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak and Konrad Adenauer.

"Founding fathers of the European Union" is sometimes considered used in analogy with the founding fathers of the United States.

The European Union names 11 people as its founding fathers. The list includes:

Other sources discuss fewer names. Of the 11 in total, sometimes emphasised are three pioneers of unification: Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak and Konrad Adenauer.

Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972) published the Paneuropa manifesto in 1923 which set up the movement of that name. At the start of the 1950s Robert Schuman (1886–1963), based on a plan by Jean Monnet (1888–1979), called for a European Coal and Steel Community in his "Schuman declaration". Monnet went on to become the first President of the High Authority. Schuman later served as President of the European Parliament and became notable for advancing European integration.

Following its creation, the Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community. Although not all the people who signed the treaty are known as founding fathers, a number are, such as Paul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972), who also worked on the treaty as well as the Benelux union and was the first President of the European Parliament. Other founding fathers who signed the treaty were Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) of Germany and Joseph Bech (1887–1975) of Luxembourg.

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