Spaak method

Last updated

The Spaak method of negotiation is named after Paul-Henri Spaak, a Belgian politician, who applied this method at the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom in 1956 at Val Duchesse castle in preparing for the Treaties of Rome in 1957.

Contents

During the negotiations leading to the conference at Val Duchesse, most of the real negotiations took place prior to the actual Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) within the Spaak Committee that was charged with setting the agenda for the Val Duchesse conference. The final report of the committee then formed the basis for the final treaty which was then approved in Rome. Within this negotiating method, the preparatory committee has a strong initiating and brokerage role in the phase preceding the conference, while the actual Intergovernmental Conference only deals with negotiating small changes in the original agenda prepared by the preparatory committee.

This method was also applied to the preparation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) by the Delors Committee.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Economic Community</span> Former international organisation

The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities, in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Rome</span> 1957 founding treaty of the European Economic Community

The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty, brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, and it came into force on 1 January 1958. Originally the "Treaty establishing the European Economic Community", and now continuing under the name "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union", it remains one of the two most important treaties in what is now the European Union (EU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intergovernmental Conference</span>

In the politics of the European Union, an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) is the formal procedure for negotiating amendments to the EU's founding treaties. Under the treaties, an IGC is called into being by the European Council, and is composed of representatives of the member states, with the Commission, and to a lesser degree the Parliament also participating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul-Henri Spaak</span> Belgian politician (1899–1972)

Paul-Henri Charles Spaak was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the institutions that evolved into the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luxembourg compromise</span>

The Luxembourg Compromise was an agreement reached in January 1966 to resolve the "Empty Chair Crisis" which had caused a stalemate within European Economic Community (EEC).

A sherpa is the personal representative of a head of state or head of government who prepares an international summit, such as the annual G7 and G20 summits. Between the G7 summits there are multiple sherpa conferences where possible agreements are laid out. This reduces the amount of time and resources required at the negotiations of the heads of state at the final summit. The name sherpa—without further context—refers to sherpas for the G7 summit, but the designation can be extended to different regular conferences where the participation of the head of state is required. The sherpa is generally quite influential, although they do not have the authority to make a final decision about any given agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of European integration (1948–1957)</span> Aspect of history

The year 1948 marked the beginning of the institutionalised modern European integration. With the start of the Cold War, the Treaty of Brussels was signed in 1948 establishing the Western Union (WU) as the first organisation. In the same year, the International Authority for the Ruhr and the Organization for European Economic Co-operation, the predecessor of the OECD, were also founded, followed in 1949 by the Council of Europe, and in 1951 by the European Coal and Steel Community, with the ensuing moves to create further communities leading to the Treaty of Rome (1957).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Château of Val-Duchesse</span> Mansion and estate in Belgium

The Château of Val-Duchesse is a mansion and estate situated in the municipality of Auderghem in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. The château, which occupies the site of a former priory, is owned by the Belgian Royal Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers</span>

Jean V Charles, Count Snoy et d'Oppuers was a Belgian civil servant, diplomat and Christian Democratic politician of the PSC-CVP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messina Conference</span> 1955 ECSC member state meeting

The Messina Conference of 1955 was a meeting of the six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The conference assessed the progress of the ECSC and, deciding that it was working well, proposed further European integration. This initiative led to the creation in 1957 of the European Economic Community and Euratom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaak Committee</span>

The Spaak Committee was an Intergovernmental Committee set up by the Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) as a result of the Messina Conference of 1955. The Spaak Committee started its work on 9 July 1955 and ended on 20 April 1956, when the Heads of Delegation of the six Member States of the ECSC approved the Spaak report. The committee worked on two main topics, one was the creation of a general common market and the other one was the establishment of a European Community for the peaceful use of atomic energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom</span>

The Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom was held in Brussels and started on 26 June 1956 with a session in the Grand Salon of the Belgian Foreign Ministry. The negotiations went on at the Château of Val-Duchesse in Auderghem (Brussels) and would continue until March 1957. The conference was held to draft the Treaties establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community. The conference built on the results of the Spaak Report of the Spaak Committee and the decision taken at the Venice Conference to prepare the plan for the establishment of a common market and the establishment of a European Community for the peaceful use of atomic energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venice Conference</span>

The Venice Conference was held in Venice on 29 and 30 May 1956. The Foreign Ministers of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community met at the Cini Foundation on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore to discuss the Spaak Report of the Spaak Committee. At the conference the Foreign Ministers explained the views of the ECSC governments on the proposals in the Spaak Report. As a result of the conference they decided to organize the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom in order to prepare for establishment of a common market and a European Community for the peaceful use of nuclear power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaak Report</span>

The Spaak Report or Brussels Report on the General Common Market is the report drafted by the Spaak Committee in 1956. The Intergovernmental Committee, headed by Paul-Henri Spaak, presented its definitive report on 21 April 1956 to the six governments of the member states of the European Coal and Steel Community.

The Paul-Henri Spaak Foundation or Fondation Paul-Henri Spaak located in Brussels (Belgium) was founded in 1973, one year after the death Paul-Henri Spaak, to continue his work on European integration and transatlantic relations. The Foundation organises conferences and seminars, which are published and possesses a major part of Paul-Henri Spaak's archives. Viscount Étienne Davignon is the president of the Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auderghem</span> Municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium

Auderghem or Oudergem is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-eastern part of the region, along the Woluwe valley and at the entrance to the Sonian Forest, it is bordered by Etterbeek, Ixelles, Watermael-Boitsfort, and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Tervuren and Overijse. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bech-Bodson Ministry</span>

The Bech-Bodson Ministry was the government of Luxembourg between 29 December 1953 and 29 March 1958. It was a coalition between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), and the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).

The Convention on the association of the Netherlands Antilles with the European Economic Community is an international agreement amending the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, with the aim of awarding OCT status to the Netherlands Antilles, which was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1954 until 2010. A full treaty revision was needed because Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Luxembourg wanted to add a protocol on the import of refined petroleum products from the Netherlands Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Frederick Bretherton</span>

Russell Frederick Bretherton,, was a British economist, civil servant and amateur entomologist, particularly noted for his membership of the Spaak Committee in 1955.

The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore in charge of negotiating one or several international legal instruments (treaty) to protect traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, and genetic resources in relation with intellectual property, thus bridging existing gaps in international law. The IGC is convened in Geneva by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and has been meeting since 2001.

References

Sources