eurealist.co.uk

I have received an interesting exchange of e-mails about the following quote attributed to Jean Monnet,

The fact is that Monnet would have had no argument with the sentiments expressed in the quote.

‘Europe’s nations should be guided towards the super-state without their people understanding what is happening. This can be accomplished by successive steps each disguised as having an economic purpose, but which will eventually and irreversibly lead to federation.’

The reliability of this quote was questioned a few weeks ago on the Yes to the EU Constitution Blog

It seems now that Monnet did not say these words, so far it has been established that Adrian Hilton wrote the following in his book The Principality and Power of Europe

One of the founding fathers of the EU, Jean Monnet, also a devout Roman Catholic, totally rejected the idea that Europe should consist of sovereign nations. He believed in the Catholic vision that Europe should become a federal superstate, into which all ancient nations would be fused. ‘Fused’ is the word he used in a comunication* dated 30th [sic - should be 3rd] April 1952, and is wholly consistent with the language of the Maastricht Treaty. For this to be achieved without the peoples of Europe realising what was happening, the plan was to be accomplished in successive steps. Each was to be disguised as having an economic purpose, but all, taken together, would inevitably and irreversibly lead to federation. After Europe’s coal and steel production were pooled, Europe’s atomic programmes were to be co-ordinated. Then would follow the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Market. After this would come the single currency, and so on. Monnet related on 6th May 1970, that he had explained this to Heath:

‘I told Heath how we had proceeded from the start, step by step, and how we had gradually created the Common Market and today’s Europe, and thaand how we had gradually created the Common Market and today’s Europe, and that I was convinced we should proceed in the same manner”

There may have been no evil intent; Heath and other leaders may have thought they knew best and that the people should simply follow them, uninformed or, if necessary, disinformed.”
3 April 1952 Monnet did say

“The fusion (of economic functions) would compel nations to fuse their sovereignty into that of a single European State.”

However the highlighted text above is very similar to the attributed Monnet quote, In reply to a request for clarification Adrian Hilton said;

I do not believe that Monnet ever articulated these precise words, but I certainly never said that he did. Looking at the similarities in phrasing and vocabulary, it appears that some over-enthusiast has redacted my words into a Monnet quotation, and this may have become the source of confusion. Yet even then they have paraphrased my words, which shows a peculiar propensity to literary creativity. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the past month (and, no, I am no longer the Conservative candidate for Slough), it is that standing for Parliament causes people to twist, warp and misrepresent all manner of things that one has written, no matter how academic the thesis, or how credible and cogent the argument.

As has been observed, when I am quoting others, I not only place the words in the appropriate punctuation, but in the 2000 edition of ‘The Principality & Power of Europe’ I refer to primary and secondary sources. There is a lesson here (and one I learnt back in 1996 when I stood for the Referendum Party), that there is an imperative for all parliamentary candidates in an age of spin not to undermine the veracity of their campaigns with the use of mythical quotations (or, for that matter, inaccurate statistics…)

Although it is always important to be able to justify our sources, if Monnet did not say “Europe’s nations should be guided towards the super-state without their people understanding what is happening. This can be accomplished by successive steps each disguised as having an economic purpose, but which will eventually and irreversibly lead to federation.” then we should of course not attribute those words to him.

I believe Peter Thornycroft wrote in his booklet Design for Europe (1947);

No government dependent upon a democratic vote could possibly agree in advance to the sacrifice which any adequate plan must involve. The people must be led slowly and unconsciously into the abandonment of their traditional economic defences, not asked, in advance of having received any of the benefits which will accrue to them from the plan, to make changes of which they may not at first recognise the advantage to themselves as well as to the rest of the world quoted by Bill Jamieson in Britain Beyond Europe.

This clearly shows that the thoughts around creating the United States of Europe over the heads of the people were being suggested at the time. The words attributed to Monnet do sit at ease with those of Thornycroft and other quotes of Monnet show that he was of the same mind when it came to declaring openly the final outcome of his dream of a United States of Europe.