Pierre Louvrier (center) speaks during the “Schuman Plan 2.0 — Europe’s Role in a Fragmented World” debate at the European Parliament, Nov. 11, 2025. / Credit: Maria Grazia Ricciardi
EWTN News, Nov 19, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).
A Vatican-based foundation has proposed a new peace initiative inspired by Venerable Robert Schuman, one of the European Union’s founding fathers, during a debate at the European Parliament.
The Clementy Schuman Legacy Foundation presented what it calls “Schuman Plan 2.0” — a blueprint for peace through economic cooperation and shared resources — at a Nov. 11 debate hosted by the European People’s Party Group, the largest political group in the European Parliament.
The proposal draws on the French politician and Catholic’s historic declaration of May 9, 1950, which stated: “Europe will be made through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.” That declaration laid the foundation for what would, many years later, become the European Union.
German member of the European Parliament Niels Geuking, a member of the European People’s Party and the Family Party, organized the debate. He told CNA that Europe has reached a point where it needs to “re-strengthen its political and social foundations, just as Robert Schuman did after the Second World War.”
Geuking said he expects serious debate on Europe’s strategic realignment “with a focus on cohesion, shared values, and solidarity among the member states,” as well as concrete initiatives that put family, the common good, and responsible economic order back at the center of EU policy.
Pierre Louvrier, chairman of the foundation’s advisory board, presented the proposal to the European Parliament on behalf of the foundation’s board.
“We believe that the same principles that reconciled former enemies in 1945 can reconcile nations today,” Louvrier said. “When people work together to share energy, technology, and natural resources, war becomes redundant. That was Schuman’s genius — and it is the path Europe must rediscover if it wants to lead toward lasting peace.”
According to a white paper provided to CNA, the proposal outlines a broader “partnership for peace, prosperity, and security” between the United States and Europe as well as Russia and Ukraine. The document proposes extending Schuman’s founding model of shared resources to the entire Northern Hemisphere as a way to restore strength through shared prosperity and rebuild trust after years of geopolitical division.
The proposal states that sharing resources will broaden common responsibility for peace across the Northern Hemisphere. Each nation would retain its sovereignty, following the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, so that cooperation strengthens local freedom and cultural identity.
The foundation has operated from the Vatican, hosting high-level roundtables and dialogues — including one on Oct. 18 that participants said included high-level EU, U.S., Swiss, Russian, and Ukrainian nationals.
The foundation’s leadership includes Monsignor Bernard Ardura, postulator of the beatification cause of Venerable Robert Schuman and former president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. His presence underscores the initiative’s roots in Schuman’s Christian-democratic heritage and the Church’s understanding of Europe’s vocation.
The board also includes Henri Malosse, former president of the European Economic and Social Committee.
Speaking to CNA, Malosse said Europe’s deepest crisis today is not economic but moral.
“Today’s Europe first of all lacks humanity,” Malosse said. “Egoism is no longer only a personal attitude — it has become the attitude of nations. When one member suffers, others close their eyes and ears.”
Malosse said it is time for the European Union to embrace renewed solidarity. “We need projects that build social harmony — not social dumping — and real support for families, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The EU has become only about money and the economy. What we need is a union of culture, health, and care. Solidarity must once again become the soul of Europe.”
Louvrier told CNA that the Schuman Plan 2.0 aims to respond to that need.
“The Schuman Plan 2.0 is a practical path for Europe to assume its responsibility for peace, unity, and prosperity across the entire Northern Hemisphere,” he said. “What we are doing is simply carrying forward the legacy of Venerable Robert Schuman — a legacy of moral clarity and political courage.”
Robert Schuman, French foreign minister after World War II, was declared venerable by Pope Francis in June 2021, recognizing his heroic virtue. His 1950 proposal to pool French and German coal and steel production led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the precursor to the European Union.
