Recognition without influence? German trade unions and Jean Monnet's Action Committee for the United States of Europe 1955 – 1975

Fieldhouse, Richard Arnold (2023). Recognition without influence? German trade unions and Jean Monnet's Action Committee for the United States of Europe 1955 – 1975. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the relationship of the German trades unions with Jean Monnet’s Action Committee for the United States of Europe. In doing so it moves away from the traditional Monnet-centred narratives that surround the Committee to examine it from the viewpoint of one of the participating member groups. Monnet promoted European integration to resolve the dilemma of early post-war Europe – how to balance the need for French security against an economically reviving Federal Republic. Integration into Europe helped stabilise democracy in the new Federal Republic, a process in which the unions believed they should play a key role. Side-lined by Adenauer at home, the German unions saw Europe as a means of achieving the reforms denied domestically. However, union leaders failed to develop an agenda to make use of the Committee and when disappointed by the outcome of the negotiations for the Rome Treaties, lost interest in it, a process which was eased by the Committee’s decline in relevance during the 1960s. Nevertheless, membership of the Committee was important in socialising German elites, including union leaders, into Europe after the war. As well as deepening our understanding of the Action Committee itself, the thesis explores the interplay of domestic and integration politics during the period and the role of permissive consensus, which underpinned the union leaders’ attitudes to the Committee, during the early years of European integration.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):