-Emerging from the devastation of World War II, the European project aimed to secure lasting peace and rebuild the continent by fundamentally changing the relations between nations.  
-The pivotal 1950 Schuman Declaration proposed placing Franco-German coal and steel production under a joint High Authority, making war between the historical rivals "materially impossible".  
-This initiative led six founding nations—France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1951, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).  
-The ECSC pioneered supranational institutions, including a High Authority and a Court of Justice, to manage the common market for these resources and embed cooperation.  
-This successful first step fostered reconciliation, proved the viability of integration, and set the stage for the wider European Economic Community and the ongoing, adaptive experiment that is the European Union today.