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

Camp files, lot 55 D 105, “Schuman Plan—1953”

No. 152
Memorandum for the Secretary of State¹

confidential

[Washington,] February 16, 1953.

Subject:

• Designation of Mr. Bruce²

The proposed designation of Mr. Bruce as U. S. Observer to the EDC Interim Committee raises the question of the scope of his activities in connection with the other aspects of the six-country movement. As you know, the relationship between the CSC, the EDC, and the embryonic EPC are very close, even to the point of assuming common institutions for the three. At the present time, American activity relating to the six-country movement is not organized along clear or simple lines but is handled by an SRE–Embassy group under Mr. Tomlinson who is for CSC matters responsible to Mr. Draper and for EDC and EPC matters to Ambassador Dunn. It has, therefore, seemed to us that the designation of Mr. Bruce provides an excellent opportunity to consolidate and to strengthen our relations with these organizations.

It is, therefore, recommended that in addition to his designation as our EDC Observer, Mr. Bruce be designated the U.S. Representative to the Coal and Steel Community at Luxembourg and be given the personal rank of Ambassador. By broadening his assignment in this way we will derive the maximum psychological impact in Europe from this important new step. It would be clear that the U.S. is interested in the EDC as part of a broader six-country development and not solely as a necessary arrangement for our mutual defense. In addition, the designation of Mr. Bruce to the CSC would be looked upon by Mr. Monnet and his associates as perhaps the clearest indication we could give of our close support for and belief in their experiment in six-country unification.

From the United States standpoint we should benefit from consolidating our six-country work under a single high-ranking representative. To be most effective it would probably be desirable for him to have the personal rank of Ambassador as does the British representative. Although it is not required by law, it might also be desirable for the President to request Senate approval of his designation.

The major questions with which Mr. Bruce will have to deal in the next few months, even if he is also accredited to the CSC, will of course, be primarily related to the EDC negotiations, and it is assumed that he would therefore live in or near Paris and have an office in Paris. He would presumably wish to spend a day or two each month in Luxembourg and probably to have one or two other staff members stationed in Luxembourg to keep in daily touch with the High Authority, as is the case today.

The consolidating of these functions under Mr. Bruce would, of course, need to be discussed with Mr. Draper, particularly since it is his understanding that the President did not intend that reorganization and reduction in the activities of the SRE would take place until after the next NATO Council Meeting in April.³

1. The drafter has not been identified.
2. On Feb. 10, Dulles sent a memorandum to President Eisenhower in which he indicated that David Bruce was “very responsive to the idea of going back to follow up in the six EDC capitals the work which Stassen and I did there,” presumably a reference to the trip to Western Europe by Dulles and Stassen in early February. Dulles went on to note that he did not suggest any title for Bruce, and Bruce did not ask for any, although Dulles thought he might be made U.S. Observer on the EDC Interim Committee. (740.5/2–1053)

3. According to telegram 4469 to Paris, Feb. 18, President Eisenhower decided to announce that day that David Bruce would leave for Europe soon to serve as U.S. Observer to the Interim Committee of the European Defense Community and as U.S. Representative to the European Coal and Steel Community, with additional responsibilities for observing the proposed creation of a European Political Community. (740.5/2–1853) For the text of the White House press release on Bruce’s appointment, issued on Feb. 18, see Department of State Bulletin, Mar. 2, 1953, p. 352.

   On Mar. 3, Bruce presented his credentials to the President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community, Jean Monnet, and other leading officials. The texts of statements made during this presentation by Bruce and Monnet were transmitted to the Department of State in despatch 52 from Luxembourg, Mar. 6. (850.33/3–653)