Conference files, lot 59 D 95, CF 98

Press Communiqué of the Eighth Session of the North Atlantic Council, Rome, November 24–28, 19511

1. The North Atlantic Council has today concluded its Eighth Session in Rome. It was a regular meeting of the Council held in accordance with the policy announced at Ottawa of holding frequent meetings to exchange views and to develop more effective unity of action on a continuing basis. The meeting was the first held under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Lester B. Pearson, Canadian Minister for External Affairs, and was attended by twenty-eight ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Defence.

Pending parliamentary approval of the decision to invite Greece and Turkey to adhere to the North Atlantic Treaty, representatives of those two countries attended the plenary meetings of the Council as observers.

2. The Council considered progress reports from its military and civilian agencies. It instructed the pertinent agencies to put into action certain recommendations of the reports and to continue their work on others with a view to reporting further at the next session of the Council.

3. The Chairman and one Vice Chairman of the Temporary Council Committee informed the Council of the progress of the Committee’s work directed towards the reconciliation of military requirements with political-economic capabilities. They stated that the Committee’s final report and recommendations would be presented early in December for the consideration of members governments and the Council at its next session.

4. The Military Committee, consisting of the Chiefs of Staff of member countries, met in Rome before the Council Meeting. The Council considered the reports of the Military Committee, including one on the readiness and effectiveness of NATO forces. The Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and his Chief of Staff made oral statements. The Council exchanged views and took decisions on various military matters dealt with in these reports.

5. The North Atlantic Council received statements with respect to the status of negotiations for the establishment of a European Defence Community, and the status of negotiations with the German Federal Republic concerning the contractual arrangements to replace the occupation statute.

The Council adopted a resolution expressing its hope that the Paris Conference would conclude its activities at the earliest possible movement [Page 743] so that a definitive report could be made to the Council for consideration at its next meeting.

The resolution requested the appropriate North Atlantic Treaty agencies in the meantime to give early attention to the problem of correlating the obligations and relationships of the European Defence Community with those of the North Atlantic Treaty so that discussions with the Paris Conference on this question may be held and concluded as soon as possible.

6. The Council approved an interim report submitted by the Committee on the North Atlantic Community (consisting of representatives of Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway).

The report stressed the importance of further developing the habit of consultation on matters of common concern. The Council directed that fuller study be given to a number of proposals relating to economic, social and cultural matters and to the co-ordination of the activities of NATO civilian agencies with those of other international organizations. In this connection the Council recommended that particular consideration be given to facilitating the movement of labour from member countries with excess manpower to others where it could be effectively utilised.

The Council directed the Committee to continue its work.

7. The Council agreed that its next meeting should be held in Lisbon on February 2nd, 1952.

  1. Circulated as Council Document C8–D/15 and approved by the Council during its final meeting on November 28.