840.20/4–849
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Counselor of the Department of State (Bohlen)
| Participants: | M. Armand Bérard, French Chargé d’Affaires |
| C—Mr. Bohlen | |
| EUR—John D. Hickerson | |
| WE—T. C. Achilles |
I asked M. Bérard to call to exchange ideas on the Atlantic Pact organization. I outlined to him briefly our thinking that the Council and the Defense Committee should be composed of representatives of all the parties but that the next lower echelon should be more in accordance with the realities of the situation and consist of some sort of an executive committee composed of representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Canada and the United States. I suggested that representatives of other parties should sit as full members with this committee whenever matters concerning their own countries were under discussion, but that the British and French members might represent the other Brussels Treaty countries.
Bérard expressed general agreement with these views and added that the United Kingdom and France might in addition represent the other European parties to the Pact. He said that Schuman had already discussed with Spaak and Stikker the possibility of France representing the Benelux countries, and that they had indicated that this would be acceptable. I suggested that, since this was a European problem, it would be preferable for the British and French to work it out in the near future with the Benelux countries and perhaps later with the other European parties. I said I had discussed the subject briefly with Jebb and found him in general agreement, that we proposed to discuss it with the Canadians and that we thought it would be useful for the French to discuss it with the British, and whenever they thought that the time was propitious, with the Benelux countries.
Bérard repeated several times that Schuman would have “no objection” to the whole organization being located in Washington. I said we had reached no opinion on location and believed that this question should be decided only after more thinking had been done and agreement reached on the nature and functions of the machinery to be established. The whole organization would not necessarily have to be in the same place.