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

Camp files, lot 55 D 105, “EPC—1953”

No. 178
Memorandum by Rosalind Sawyer and Miriam Camp of the Office of European Regional Affairs

confidential

[Washington,] October 13, 1953.

European Political Community

The deputies of the Foreign Ministers of the Six countries have just concluded a meeting on the EPC which began September 22 in Rome. A report of the conference is being prepared for review by the Ministers who were originally scheduled to meet October 22 at The Hague but now probably will not meet before the middle of November.¹ The report from Rome will not only indicate the area of general agreement which has been reached, but will also highlight the differences so that the position of each government will be made clear on all essential aspects of the proposed Community.

We have not yet received either a full report on the conference nor the text of the conference report. According to the available information, however, the French position which prior to the meeting was reported to be very negative and directed toward the creation of an EPC which would tend to water down rather than strengthen the supranational aspects of the EDC and the CSC was modified during the course of the conference. The French have reportedly agreed to a directly elected People’s Chamber and have modified, to some extent, their earlier position which was to give the Council of Ministers greater power at the expense of the Executive. We do not, however, know the final recommendations of the conference on this key question of the division of authority between a central executive and a Council of National Ministers.

There now appears to be general agreement on a directly elected Lower House and on some form of Upper House, although the relationship between the Upper House and the Council of Ministers is unresolved, as well as the relationship between the Executive and the Council of Ministers.

As in previous meetings, the Dutch continued to stress that any treaty to be acceptable to them must include a strong section on economic integration.

The German delegation was probably the most active in pushing for the Community and Hallstein believes the conference report although disappointing in some respects will not prejudice any fundamental aspects of the Community or jeopardize the supranational principle.

It appears unlikely that initially, at least, the EPC will be given powers additional to those already contained in the CSC and EDC treaties.²

1. For a summary of the meeting at The Hague, which took place Nov. 26–28, see Document 183.
2. A summary of the outstanding features of the Rome Conference report was transmitted to the Department of State in telegram Coled unnumbered from Paris, Oct. 15. (740.00/10–1553) An unofficial translation of the report was later sent to the Department in despatch Coled D–49 from Paris, Oct. 27, with the statement that although distribution of the report was strictly limited to the official representatives of the six participating countries, Embassy officials were provided a copy with the request that possession of the report be kept secret. (740.00/10–2753) For an analysis of the report, see Document 181.