Institutions One institution was theHigh Authority. This was a kind of executive
power with the task to implement the aims of the ECSC. It had nine independent
members from the six participating states. The independence of these members is
important. The High Authority represented the technocratic, supranational, nonpo-
litical aspects of the ECSC. It developed in the course of time into the Commission
of the EU. Both the political and intergovernmental aspects of the ECSC were
represented by theCouncil, a body consisting of representatives of the Member
States, who represented the interests of the Member States. The two other
institutions were theAssembly, made up of delegates from the national parliaments
of the Member States, and theCourt of Justice.
Supranational vs. Intergovernmental The above account of the institutions of
the ECSC dropped the words “supranational” and “intergovernmental.” These two
words stand for a built-in tension in the ECSC and all the later European
organizations. On one hand, the ECSC was meant to further a common interest of
the participating states in the form of good policies concerning steel and coal
production and—from a somewhat wider perspective—in the form of a contribu-
tion to the maintenance of peace through economic integration. These interests
transcend the interests of the national states, albeit that these states of course also
had an interest in good steel and coal production and in the maintenance of peace.
Due to this focus on the general interest, it might be the case that the ECSC
sometimes had to sacrifice the national interests of one of the Member States on
behalf of the general interest. In the field of coal and steel production, the
participating states had transferred some of their national powers to the ECSC,
which allowed the ECSC the option of forcing these measures upon the states, if
necessary and in the general interest. This is the supranational aspect of the ECSC,
which also returned later in the EEC and in the EU.
Understandably, the participating states had some reservations about the possi-
bility that a supranational organization would force its policies upon them. For that
reason, they ensured that they had their say in the decision-making process of the
ECSC. This influence was exercised through the Council. Through the Council, the
participating states could steer the ECSC to make it a tool for furthering their
national interests. This is the intergovernmental aspect of the ECSC, and it too
returned later in the EEC and in the EU.
10.2.2 The EEC
In 1957, the six states that founded the ECSC founded two additional organizations
with approximately the same setup as the ECSC, namely the European Atomic
Energy Community (Euratom) and the EEC. Euratom will not be discussed, as it
has never played an important role. On the contrary, the EEC is by far the most
prominent organization of the three main supranational European organizations.
214 J. Hage