Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western Europe and Canada, Volume VI, Part 1

740.00/9–1552

No. 108
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Perkins) to the Under Secretary of State (Bruce)¹

confidential

Washington, September 15, 1952.

Subject:

• Recent Schuman Plan and European Political Community Developments

Meeting of the Coal and Steel Community—Committee [Council] of Ministers

On Tuesday, September 9, the six Foreign Ministers of the Schuman Plan countries met in Luxembourg.² At this meeting the Franco-Italian proposal to have the Schuman Plan Assembly draft a treaty for a political authority was presented. The major issue which arose during the discussion of the plan concerned the desire of the Dutch to have a diplomatic conference meet to establish the terms of reference of the Schuman Plan Assembly prior to the Assembly’s first session on the political authority question. A compromise was finally worked out whereby the members of the Governments may participate in the deliberations of the Assembly and its committees in a manner to be determined later by agreement between the Ministers and the Assembly.

The Schuman Plan Assembly

The Schuman Plan Assembly, which met for the first time on Wednesday, the tenth of September,³ agreed to undertake the drafting of a treaty for a European Political Authority and decided to meet on Monday, September 15 (a) to appoint the nine additional Assembly members from France, Germany, and Italy which are necessary under the proposed plan, (b) to appoint a working committee which would draft a first report on establishing the political community, and (c) to agree on relations with the Council of Europe and invite representatives from non-member countries to act as observers. The Assembly has not yet agreed as to its next meeting date; however there is talk of October and January. The work on the draft treaty is to be completed by March 1953.

The Schuman Plan Assembly elected Paul Henri Spaak President of the Schuman Plan Assembly. The Assembly has set up an Organizing Committee which is to study problems of organization of the work of the Assembly and the composition and activities of the necessary committees. The Germans did not press for the Chairmanship of this Organizing Committee but were willing to accept the Vice-Chairmanship of this Organizing Committee, leaving the Chairmanship to Paul Reynaud. This is assumed to have been done in order to clear the way for the Germans to acquire the chairmanship of the committee which is to draft the first report on the European Political Community.

Secretariats and Relations with the Council of Europe

At the ministerial meeting in Luxembourg, it was decided that the Council of Ministers should have its own secretariat separate from the High Authority and Secretariat of the Assembly. During discussions there was no reference to the earlier proposals of Mr. Eden that the Council of Ministers of the Coal and Steel Community and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe have the same secretariat.

The Coal and Steel Community Assembly authorized its President and Vice President to appoint its secretary and Secretariat. This has been interpreted to indicate that the Coal and Steel Assembly and the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe will not have a joint secretariat as had been proposed by Mr. Eden and for which J–C Paris, Secretary General of the Council had been pressing.

It is not yet known what Mr. Eden will say to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe regarding his earlier proposals on relations between the Council of Europe and the Schuman Plan when he addresses the session this week. However, it is clear that one of his ideas, that of having the Secretariat of the Council of Europe service the Council of Ministers of the Schuman Plan and the Schuman Plan Assembly has been firmly rejected by both these organs. M. Monnet in his opening speech to the Assembly made it very clear that, although he expected that the Schuman Plan would work out certain relationships with the Council of Europe as the Community develops, the two organizations should not become in any way “mixed”. The Assembly confirmed this further by stating in the preamble to its rules of procedure that it has “absolute independence and autonomy in its own constitution and functioning both with regard to other institutions of the community and any other national or international body.” Although it is not yet clear what the outcome of this week’s discussion in Strasbourg will be, there seems to be a growing tendency to water down rather than to strengthen the links between the Coal and Steel Community and the Council of Europe.

1. Drafted by Preston and cleared with Camp and Bonbright.
2. For a summary of this meeting, see Document 102.
3. For a summary of the meeting of the Assembly, see Documents 105 and 106.