Editorial Note
On November 4 the Department of State announced that the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and the United States would meet in Paris during the week of November 7 to discuss problems of common interest, in light of the establishment of the German Federal Republic and the recently completed meetings of the Organization of European Economic Cooperation and the Council of Europe. For the full text of the announcement, see Department of State Bulletin, November 28, 1949, page 822.
In preparation for the Foreign Ministers meeting the Office of the United States High Commissioner for Germany prepared for Secretary Acheson a series of briefing papers divided into four parts. The first part consisted of a summary statement of the United States position at the meeting. Part two dealt with problems on which the Federal Republic wanted revision of Allied policy, such as dismantling, [Page 295] shipbuilding, and Allied controls in Germany. In part three the briefing papers considered problems on which the Allies desired the revision of the Federal Government’s policies, such as its attitude toward the International Authority for the Ruhr, the Military Security Board, and proposed anti-trust legislation. The fourth part of the papers dealt with problems affecting mainly the Allied Powers, including relations with the “German Democratic Republic,” German participation in international organizations and conferences, and the termination of the state of war with Germany. None of these papers is printed in this volume, but a complete set is in CFM Files: Lot M–88: Box 144: HICOG Briefs.