Recognition without influence? German trade unions and Jean Monnet's Action Committee for the United States of Europe 1955 – 1975

This PhD thesis examines the relationship between German trade unions and Jean Monnet's Action Committee for the United States of Europe. It shifts the focus from a Monnet-centric view to understanding the Committee from the perspective of its participating member groups. The research explores how German unions saw European integration as a way to achieve domestic reforms that were denied to them by national politics. While initially interested in using the Committee to influence European policy, their engagement waned after the negotiations for the Rome Treaties. The thesis also investigates the role of 'permissive consensus' in shaping union leaders' attitudes towards European integration during this period and how membership in the Committee helped socialize German elites into European affairs.