Editorial Note
Prior to the Lisbon Session of the North Atlantic Council, Secretary of State Acheson was in London from February 12 to February 19 during which time he held preliminary conversations with Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Secretary Eden and tripartite conversations with Eden and Foreign Minister Schuman. These conversations were mostly concerned with problems arising out of the negotiations for a European Defense Community and those “contractual arrangements” being negotiated in Bonn for the creation of a new relationship between the Western powers and the Federal Republic of Germany. The conversations culminated in meetings of Secretary Acheson, Foreign Secretary Eden, and Foreign Minister Schuman with Federal Republic Chancellor Adenauer in London, February 18–19. For documentation on Secretary Acheson’s meetings, see pages 36 ff.