ECA message files, FRC 53 A 278, Paris Repto: Telegram
The United States Special Representative in Europe for the ECA (Katz) to the Administrator for Economic Cooperation (Foster)1
Repto 2056. From ECC for ISAC (limit distribution).
1. ECC has considered question of gaps between (a) present European plans and US estimates of minimum capabilities for 1951–52 and (b) capabilities plus US availabilities for MTDP, and requirements.
2. Believe European govts shld be made aware of these gaps. Believe also highly desirable figures be disseminated before burden sharing exercise, now about to begin, gets underway. Thus because (a) European countries may enter burden sharing exercise with conscious or subconscious intention to use their present appropriations as maximum estimates of what their parliaments will provide, and make them conditional on ability to shift part of this burden to US or other European countries (b) desirable frame of mind for these negotiations will be one in which Europeans realize that they must be called upon to make larger net effort all around; (c) thus we shld at an early stage introduce the notion that MTDP objectives require greater effort, and can be reached equitably by adding in varying degrees to already planned net contributions of each European country.
3. Your attention is called to fact this assessment of situation, while needed immediately, would greatly assist implementation part B of program contemplated in terms of ref of [Working Group of] 12.
4. Therefore recommended that (a) Washington provide USDep with authoritative statement of order of magnitude of gaps for 1951–52, together with supporting material relating to force requirements and production deficiencies, (b) USDep be authorized to present such material to CD or to FEB, and to request country MDAP groups to follow up appropriately at the country level. [ECC.]
North Atlantic Treaty Organization May 25, 1951
Source: House Report No. 872, 82d Cong., 1st sess., p. 11.
- Repeated to London for USDep and SUSRep and to Heidelberg.↩