Marshall Plan And The Early Process Of European Integration

"Marshall Plan", i.e. "European Recovery Program", was an economic aid and expanding plan brought forward by U. S. Secretary of State, George C. Marshall in his Harvard speech on June 5,1947. The Marshall Plan came into effect under the background of the cold war, through which America stabilized capitalist rule of Western Europe and contained Soviet Union and insured America's hegemony. In the Marshall Plan, America, for the first time, put forward the idea of "European integration", which indicated the right path to European economic recovery and development. Thanks to the Marshall Plan, the nations in Western Europe founded a series of economic cooperative organizations, setting the western European economy on the right track and laying a sound foundation for European integration since.This thesis intends to analyze the formation and evolvement of American policy on Europe integration during the Marshall Plan, and it is expected to help understand the relationship between America and Europe in this period. It consists of four parts as follows:The first part details the background and causes of the Marshall Plan and discusses the formation and evolvement of the idea of European integration in the Marshall Plan. The Second World War changed the world and not cooperation but a new round contest for Europe began between the U. S. and Soviet Union thereafter. From 1945 to 1947, America offered a series of aid under the guidance of "balanced restoration" policy, which turned to be unsuccessful. Compared with the previous programs of aid, the Marshall Plan came with some new characteristics. As the first of its kind, it put forward the idea of European integration formally. The policy on boosting European integration was not contrary to American global strategies and interests. The thesis furthers the cause of American supporting European integration.Part II analyzes the reaction of European countries to the Marshall Plan as well as the idea of European integration. Western European countries welcomed Marshall Plan and in July 1947 they founded CEEC to cooperate with the Marshall Plan. During the whole course of aid, America constantly advocated the idea of European integration, but met many troubles in practice. OEEC countries seemingly accepted the idea, but in fact they were interested in the aid from America. OEEC still remained an inter-governmental organization. Though Western Europe countries cooperated in a loose manner, it surely created a cooperative atmosphere. To some extent, OEEC laid a foundation for the real start of European integration.Part III expounds upon the Shuman Plan and the foundation of ECSC, the signal of the official launch of European integration. With the support of America, France put forward the Shuman Plan, which temporized the trend of western economic integration and catered to American desire for economic integration and recovery of Germany. The founding of ECSC in August 1952 meant that the union of West Europe was going on theway and that it had formally developed to the phase of integration from the intergovernmental period. When the Marshall Plan ended in 1952, a series of economic organizations established by Western European countries had been beyond their respective boundary and strengthened the economic links among western European countries.Part IV emphasizes American impulse to European integration at its early stage and discusses further the relationship between America and Europe in this period. During the Marshall Plan period America helped Western Europe to found a series of regional cooperative organizations with both economic aid and political pressure, which promoted the early European integration. However, The policy on actively supporting the European integration was rooted in America's own interest, which was to effectively ensure its leadership in the Atlantic Community and contend for hegemony with Soviet Union.