Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western European Security, Volume V, Part 2

Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 378

Report by the Bonn Working Group on the Termination of the Occupation Regime in the Federal Republic of Germany¹

Bonn, 16 October 1954.

The Committee of representatives of the Governments of the Federal Republic of Germany the French Republic, the United Kingdom and the United States established in accordance with the Final Act of the Nine Power Conference, signed in London on the 3rd of October, to complete the final texts of the necessary Instruments for the Termination of the Occupation Regime in the Federal Republic of Germany has met in Bonn and submits the following report.

Recommendations

2. There is submitted herewith at Annex ‘A’² and recommended for the consideration of the Foreign Ministers of the Four Powers, a draft Protocol on the Termination of the Occupation Regime in the Federal Republic of Germany together with five Schedules annexed to it, setting out amendments to the Agreements between the four Governments signed at Bonn on the 26th of May 1952.

3. There are also submitted at Annex ‘B’³ certain draft Exchanges of Letters which it is recommended should be signed on the occasion of the signing of the Protocol. The Foreign Ministers will note that this Annex includes an Exchange of Letters concerning the affirmation, deletion or amendment, as appropriate, of the various published letters which related to the signing of the Bonn Conventions. The draft Exchange of Letters also includes one relating to certain other documents written at that time but not published.

4. In the preparation of Annex ‘B’ no action has been taken with regard to the Letters connected with the signature of the Treaty on the Establishment of the European Defence Community, which are set out in the Federal Government’s Official Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) 1954, Part II Number 3 at pages 416 to 418 inclusive, but it was agreed that this did not preclude discussion of their subject matter at some other time.

5. It is recommended that the Foreign Ministers note the agreed comments in Annex ‘E’.³

Request for decision

The Stationing of Forces in the Federal Republic

6. Annex ‘C’³ to this Report sets out texts of Articles 2, 4 and 5 of the Relations Convention, with annotations showing the differences of opinion. Annex ‘D’³ sets out a German proposal for the separate Convention referred to in the Note to the German text of paragraph 2 of Article 4 in Annex ‘C’. The essential difference between the various positions is the following. The U.S., U.K. and French Delegations feel that the right to station forces in Germany deriving from the instruments to which their Governments and the Soviet Union are parties relate to Germany as a whole and that this right is indivisible. While they feel that any language casting doubt on the maintenace of this right would weaken the Western position vis-à-vis the Soviet Union with respect to Berlin and in negotiations on the reunification of Germany, they agree that the exercise of the right in the territory of the Federal Republic should be on a contractual basis after the entry into force of the arrangements for the German defence contribution. The German delegation feels that the right to station forces cannot be a reserved right and at the same time be based on a contractual relationship. They consider that it is not indivisible but can be relinquished for the western part of Germany and that it is not needed vis-à-vis the Soviets, who themselves base the stationing of their forces in Eastern Germany on the contractual consent of the G.D.R. The other three delegations do not agree that the Soviet Declaration on Relations with the G.D.R. places the Soviet forces in the East Zone on a contractual basis. This difference of opinion is submitted to Ministers for decision.

Note

The following action will be required when Ministers have agreed the texts of Articles 2, 4 and 5 of the Relations Convention:

(i) Insert the agreed texts of those Articles in Schedule I to the Protocol.

(ii) Amend the references in Article 9(3) of the Relations Convention.

(iii) Amend the reference to Article 2(1) (c) of the Relations Convention in Letter No. 2 in Bundesgesetzblatt 1954, Teil II, Nr. 3, page 244, by completing the Schedule to Letter (h) in Annex ‘B’ to take account of the change of numbering of the provision relevant to Letter No. 2.

1. Attached to the source text, in addition to a cover sheet and list of contents, were five annexes totaling approximately 110 pages. The annexes, not printed here, contain the following: Annex A—Protocol on the Termination of the Occupation Regime (with five schedules); Annex B—Draft Exchanges of Letters; Annex C—Disagreed Articles 2, 4 and 5 of Convention on Relations; Annex D— German Proposal on a Separate Convention; and Annex E—Agreed Comments. (Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 378) The source text with its five annexes was submitted to the Four-Power Conference for consideration at the first meeting in Paris on Oct. 20; for a telegraphic summary of the first Four-Power meeting, see p. 1408. For information concerning the Bonn Working Group, which drafted this report, see the editorial note, p. 1385.
2. Not printed. For the text of the final Protocol on the Termination of the Occupation Regime, see p. 1435.
3. Not printed, but see footnote 1 above.
3. Not printed, but see footnote 1 above.
3. Not printed, but see footnote 1 above.
3. Not printed, but see footnote 1 above.