74 years ago today, on April 18, 1951 (March 13, 1951 in the lunar calendar), the European Coal and Steel Joint Venture was formally established. An economic consortium established by some countries in Western Europe to promote the integration of coal and steel industries. In 1950, French Foreign Minister Schuman put forward the "European Coal and Steel Joint Venture Plan" (the "Schuman Plan"), suggesting that countries willing to entrust the management of the coal and steel sector in their own economy to an independent institution should establish a common coal and steel market. Since then, six Western European countries, including France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, have begun negotiations on the basis of this plan. On April 18, 1951, the above six countries signed the 50-year Treaty of European Coal and Steel Joint Venture in Paris, which marked the formal establishment of the European Coal and Steel Joint Venture. By 1954, the trade barriers of coal, coke, steel, pig iron, etc. in these countries were almost completely eliminated. The joint venture has successively formulated a series of common regulations to supervise cartels and regulate business mergers. Its central executive agency determines the price, stipulates the production quota, and is aided to punish enterprises that violate treaties and regulations. The European Coal and Steel Joint Venture enabled the realization of the "European Coal and Steel Joint Venture Plan" and later developed into the European Economic Community. In 1967, its Council of Ministers and Commission merged with their counterparts in the European Economic Community.