Walter Hallstein used his time as the first President of the European Commission to build the common market and push for rapid and deep European integration.
Life and times
Hallstein approached his job as Commission President with the same commitment to European unity and the specialised knowledge and experience in the field that had inspired Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to appoint him as head of the German delegation at the Schuman Conference on the forming of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1950. These qualities among others served him well throughout his 9-year presidency, which ran from 1958 to 1967.
A vision for Europe
Hallstein was a staunch proponent of advancing European unity through the forming of a European Economic Community. The first steps towards this economic integration enabling people, services and goods to move freely were taken during the Messina Conference in 1955.
Although Hallstein initially wanted this integration to be all-encompassing and achieved as quickly as possible, the political realities of the time helped him recognise that a gradual fusing together of Member State markets would benefit everyone the most.
In 1958, the Treaty of Rome came into force and Hallstein was chosen as the first President of the Commission of the European Economic Community.
Walter Hallstein speaking on 2 March 1953 in Strasbourg
Transcript
Walter Hallstein speaking on 2 March 1953 in Strasbourg
What propels us is known well enough – there is an indestructible sense of European identity. Only with a strong, united Europe can Europeans – and the world – really thrive.
A splintered Europe will become the Balkans of the world, a standing invitation to others to interfere in our affairs. If we are to be heard, we must speak with one voice. And to that end, we would be best advised not to over-dramatise the occasional focus on individual balancing measures, or accumulations of them.
Publications
More about Walter Hallstein’s life, work and contribution to the European project