How Much We Hated Each Other

It's May 1950, just before the now-famous Robert Schuman Declaration. Schuman was the French Foreign Minister, who brokered friendly Franco-German Relations after 3 large-scale wars between the two European powers within 70 years brought havoc to Europe regularly. A year after the German Federal Republic (West) was established with Anglo-Franco-American agreement in 1949, the 1950 Declaration, which included the Benelux countries as well, created a West European Customs & Trade Zone. They later added a few more countries to become the European Economic Community, then after two enlargements in the 1980s and 1990s became the EU - the European Union, now expanded significantly larger in area, population, and in economic unity. In the first decade of this century, the EU has again been enlarged twice - the last in 2007 adding Romania and Bulgaria. This story of the EU's origins is told through the chance encounter of a young couple: Jean Monnet, a journalist from the Stuttgarter Zeitung, and the French Marie. They believe in a Union of Western Europe, and help in their own ways to bring the idea about,and change Europe's history forever - up to today, in any case. Later on, Monnet would be Robert Schuman's ally in the quest for peace and reconciliation across the continent. This film by Franck Apprederis was produced as part of the 50th Anniversary Commemorations of the European Union.