European unity and the trade union movements

The signing of the Treaties establishing the European Economic Com munity and the European Atomic Energy Community, or Euratom, by the foreign ministers of Western Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, in Rome on 25 March 1957, opened out a new chapter in European history, which had begun with the setting up of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1953. The task of drafting treaties of this sort, to make them acceptable to countries of differing economic interests, historical backgrounds, cultures and political outlooks, is, in itself, a feat requiring great skill and tenacity of purpose. But if the signing of such treaties by the plenipotentiaries of the six powers is remarkable, the second stage of persuading the national legislatures of these countries to ratify the Treaties is, perhaps, an even greater achievement. Each national parliament is composed of elected members representing different political parties, different localities, differing trade and industrial interests; and each of them is subject to the pressure of particular interests.

The fact that the Economic Community and the Atomic Energy Community can become realities, in these circumstances is evidence that the six countries have cach experienced a sufficiently strong common desire for unity in Europe to override the objections which could arise from the natural conservatism of those affected.

Of all the organised interest groups at work in the social and economic life of a modern nation, few, if any, have greater influence than the organised employees, speaking through their trade unions. Quite apart from the numerical strength of the trade unions, few other organisations are so closely geared to the everyday changes in society as to be able to bring immediate and heavy pressure to bear on those responsible for actions adversely affecting their interests. European integration is bound to bring in its wake a host of new problems for the trade unions. It might have been supposed, therefore, that they would generally oppose the Rome Treaties. The opposite has been true. Nation and inter national trade union organisations in Western Europe have been in the vanguard of those desiring a closer-knit Europe, with the important exceptions of the World Federation of Trade Unions and its affiliates.