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

740.00/2–2753: Telegram

No. 157
The Secretary of State to the Office of the United States Representative to the European Coal and Steel Community, at Paris¹

confidential
priority

Washington, March 2, 1953—7: 22 p.m.

Edcol 2. Ref Coled 3 Feb 27 on EPC.²

1. Think Spaak suggestion that Treaty be considered directly by Ministers with ad hoc Assembly leaders as prelude to signature by Governments is not practical and overlooks need for further study by experts within Governments. After this, would probably need further negotiation in inter-governmental working group of some kind (para 3 Deptel 4582 to Paris³).

2. Somewhat disturbed by Bidault–Van Zeeland attitude (para 2 Coled 3). If Ministers were to regard present draft as merely “basis for discussion” thus repudiating group which they had assigned to work on this Treaty, retarding effect on six-country community could be most serious. Bidault suggestion that Treaty could only be drawn up by regular diplomatic conference seems to us an obstructive conception and as unnecessarily playing down stature of this six-nation group.

3. While U.S. should not, of course, intervene, believe you should feel free to express view informally whenever appropriate that Ministers should certainly meet with leading ad hoc Assembly members March 9, and would hope this meeting could, as De Gasperi suggested, consider procedure from then on.

Dulles

1. Drafted by Parsons, cleared with Knight and MacArthur, and repeated to London, Brussels, The Hague, Rome, Luxembourg, and Bonn.
2. Supra.
3. Not printed; it briefly discussed the procedure for the review of the treaty on the establishment of a European Political Community. (740.00/2–2753)