Celebration of the 70th anniversary of the first meeting of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community in Luxembourg

©SIP / Julien Warnand To this end, the Treaty created several institutions: a High Authority, assisted by an Advisory Committee, a Common Assembly, a Special Council of Ministers and a Court of Justice. The question of the headquarters of these institutions was the subject of fierce debate at the time. It was finally at the end of July 1952 that the Luxembourg Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Bech, proposed that the ECSC should provisionally begin its work in Luxembourg. “Speaking of our European Union, I am tempted to say that this is where it all began. But to be perfectly correct, I would say that it is also here that it all started,” the Prime Minister noted on this occasion. ©SIP / Julien Warnand For it was here, in the town hall, that the High Authority of the ECSC, the executive body of this first European community, held its first meeting on 10 August 1952. It was therefore important for the government and the city of Luxembourg to celebrate the start of this work, which has made the city the historic capital of the European institutions, in Luxembourg. For this purpose, the Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, and the Mayor of Luxembourg City, Lydie Polfer, in the presence of the members of the college of aldermen, welcomed the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the college of commissioners to the Hôtel de Ville. Press release by the Ministry of State / Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs / Luxembourg City At the end of the meeting of the college of commissioners, a commemorative plaque was unveiled by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, and the Mayor of Luxembourg City, Lydie Polfer. On this occasion, the Mayor recalled that it was important to remember that these 70 years were a time that brought us well-being, unity and above all peace, and that we should be grateful to all those who contributed to the reconciliation and reconstruction of Europe. ©SIP / Julien Warnand 70 years later, Luxembourg remains one of the three European capitals, and continues to host the headquarters of many European institutions, agencies and bodies, in accordance with European Union primary law. Today, more than 14,000 officials and agents work in Luxembourg for various directorates of the European Commission, the Secretariat-General of the European Parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Investment Bank, the Publications Office of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, the European Stability Mechanism, the two European Schools, the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union, the High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) and the European Public Prosecutor. The Court of Appeal and the Registry of the Unified Patent Court have recently been added. This new court will have jurisdiction over infringement and validity cases of new unitary patents as well as European patents. ©SIP / Julien Warnand

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