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

850.33/6–2353: Telegram

No. 174
The United States Representative to the European Coal and Steel Community (Bruce) to the Department of State¹

Paris, June 23, 1953—8 p.m.

Coled 112. Subject is coal and steel community. Joint meeting of consultative assembly of Council of Europe with Common Assembly of coal and steel community concluded yesterday.² Two dominant themes this special session were European unification and UK association. In addition, favorable mention made of US support CSC particularly as indicated in recent exchange of letters between President Eisenhower and Congressional leaders.³

In unification debate French Gaullist Debre attacked idea of European community as reducing sovereign powers of nations. Negative attitude also taken by German Socialists. Speakers from all countries, e.g., Laffargue and Teitgen (France), Wigny, Motz and Dehousse (Belgium) and Merkatz (Germany) answered Debre’s attack with strong statements in favor European unification.

British speakers advocated earliest UK association with CSC, asking High Authority to make proposals as to form and also asking various questions as to economic policies which coal-steel community would adopt. Monnet gave no precise answers to questions raised but promised High Authority would shortly submit to British concrete proposals for association.

Joint meeting expressed great appreciation of High Authority activities and strong support of CSC and loudly applauded speakers favoring European integration. Participants appeared sincerely impressed by successful operations of CSC and in general accepted idea that objectives this community are not only economic but also political.

Draft of resolutions on High Authority report to be voted by Common Assembly evening June 23, contains following paragraph:

“The Assembly takes notice with satisfaction of the discussions which the High Authority had at Washington, welcomes warmly the declaration of the President of the United States according to the terms of which the uniting of Europe is a necessity for the peace and prosperity of Europeans and of the world, and the creation of the community is the most hopeful and constructive development so far toward an economic and political integration of Europe, and emphasizes that as a result of the exchange of letters between the American authorities, the relations between the United States and the new Europe, of which the European coal and steel community is the first concrete expression, are establishing themselves not on the basis of aid, but of cooperation.”

Bruce

1. Repeated to London, Bonn, Rome, Brussels, The Hague, and Luxembourg.
2. On June 15, the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community began a series of meetings in Strasbourg to discuss the report of the High Authority on its activities in 1952–1953. Following a joint meeting of the Common Assembly with the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on June 22, the Common Assembly concluded its sessions on June 23. Detailed reports concerning these meetings were transmitted to the Department of State in despatches Coled D–79 through Coled D–88, June 18–July 2, all of which are in file 850.33. The texts of several speeches by Monnet during these sessions are in Bruce Mission files, lot 57 M 38, “Monnet Speeches”.
3. For information concerning this exchange of correspondence, see Document 172.