740.5/5–350: Telegram
The Minister in Switzerland (Vincent) to the Secretary of State
Subject: Unlikelihood of Swiss adherence to body within Atlantic Pact to deal with political questions.
368. Ref Department’s Intel of April 27, 1950, 4 a. m.1 The intel under reference mentioned a British suggestion for “a new body within the Atlantic Pact to deal primarily with political questions” which might offer the hope of bringing in Switzerland, Western Germany, and Austria.
Conclusions
So far as Switzerland is concerned, the Legation considers the British suggestion unrealistically optimistic. The Swiss have joined international organizations with economic or cultural aims (e.g. FAO, UNESCO, OEEC), but they have consistently refrained from joining organizations with political or military aims (UN, Atlantic Pact, the Council of Europe). The Swiss objection to adherence to the latter type of organization is reinforced when it appears to them that the organization is “one sided,” i.e., that it does not include representatives of both sides in the cold war. Judging from conversations with informed Swiss and from the tone of press comment here, the Swiss hesitations with regard to the Council of Europe were based on 1) this “one sideness” of the Council and 2) its political character. If the Swiss have been reluctant to join the Council of Europe, it seems clear that they would be even less likely to consider joining a body associated with the Atlantic Pact. Calling the new body “primarily political” would not make it more attractive to the Swiss. It would, in fact, probably have exactly the opposite effect.
The Swiss situation, in the Legation’s opinion, can be summed up as follows: If a Western European Union were formed and became a healthy going concern, then the Swiss might join with reservations.
[Page 84]How To Bring the Swiss In
The Swiss tendency to be more cautious in their political relations with the West is in direct proportion to 1) the intensity with which the cold war is being conducted by both sides and 2) the Swiss estimate of the military weakness and indecision of the West, in particular of her neighbors Germany, Italy, and France. There have been a number of indications recently that the Swiss think the cold war is getting hotter and that militarily the West is weaker than had at first been supposed (cf. editorials on US break with Bulgaria, Secretary’s total diplomacy speeches, Privateer incident and recent speeches by Swiss Army officers including Chief of Staff Colonel de Montmollin). There is evidence, moreover, that the Swiss are not impressed with the resoluteness or efficacy of current efforts to form a viable union of western states. Since there is probably little that we could do to change the Swiss notions with regard to the cold war, the best chance of bringing them into a Western European organization probably lies in persuading them that in joining a Western European organization they would be entering a going concern with a bright future. This implies, as has been indicated above, persuading the Swiss that plans for Western European Federation and defense are being pursued with energy, resoluteness, and a good chance of success.
Switzerland and the Council of Europe
A few observations on Switzerland’s attitude toward the Council of Europe might be of interest. It is a fact of political importance that Swiss sympathies are over-whelmingly on the Western side in the cold war and that the hope is frequently expressed in both private conversations and editorials that Western Europe will be able to create a viable confederation and, with American help, an effective defense organization. But the Swiss generally, including many who are otherwise internationally minded, feel that Switzerland’s adherence to the Council of Europe would be contradictory to the country’s “status of neutrality.” Although the European movement in Switzerland recently received some encouragement with the announcement that the Swiss Socialist Party had decided to support it, in the Legation’s view the chance of Switzerland’s joining the Council are not better than they were a year ago and may in fact be worse.
[Here follows discussion of Foreign Minister Max Petitpierre’s views on the matter as reflected in his recent public statements and as contrasted with his probable personal feelings.]