740.00/3–2051: Telegram
The Ambassador in France ( Bruce) to the Secretary of State 1
5545. Schuman plan conf2 ended in same “team spirit” which was characteristic of nearly all its deliberations. No reservations were made by any delegation. While Schuman and the Quai d’Orsay looked on in wonder, Belg dels in chorus led others in singing ballad of its own composition on Schuman Plan.
New difficulties, however, will soon arise. We understand Van Zeeland raised three points with Schuman over weekend which he wishes to raise again at meeting of Mins. First, Van Zeeland states that he wishes to remove from treaty any powers given to High Auth which are not absolutely necessary to establish a common market. As examples he uses the anti-cartel and anti-concentration articles 60 and 61. Second, without being specific he wishes to eliminate the “dirigiste” aspect of the treaty. Third, he questions whether Belgs can accept commitment for Belg coal mines to be brought within common market within a definite period. French do not seem to be worried by Van Zeeland’s position, commenting that he has his pol difficulties and merely wishes to establish a record because of the influence of industrial interests in Belg.
There may yet be serious complications between Ger and France with regard to the handling of the Saar.
According to their Amer lawyers in Paris, certain French cartel leaders are already saying they intend to go to the US to seek support of NAM in fighting the treaty in its present form. They will argue the same points as Van Zeeland except that they will continue to try to cloak their intentions by claiming the treaty is an attack on free enterprise as it is known and practiced in the US.
There will also be differences of opinion on such questions as giving France and Germany an extra vote each in the Council of Mins, basing voting in the assembly substantially on the same [Page 107] basis as the Council of Eur rather than by weighing production and consumption, and keeping the number of members on the High Auth smaller than the number of countries.
Additional questions will certainly arise when draft treaty is made subject of public debate.3
- Repeated to Frankfurt eyes only McCloy, and to Brussels, Rome, The Hague, and London, eyes only for the Ambassadors.↩
- Reference is to the Conference of Six (composed of representatives from France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), which had been meeting in continuous session at Paris since June 1950 in response to French Foreign Minister Schuman’s proposal of May 9, 1950, for the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community. For documentation on the Schuman proposal and the creation of the Conference of Six, see Foreign Relations, 1950, vol. iii, pp. 691 ff. The treaty to establish a European Coal and Steel Community was initialed by the heads of delegations to the Conference of Six on March 19, and the text of the treaty was released that day. The treaty was formally signed on April 18.↩
- The French text of the Schuman Plan Treaty was released on April 18. (Documents on International Affairs, 1951, pp. 175–213) An analysis of the Plan and a statement by Secretary of State Acheson released on March 21 welcoming the action taken by the six Western European countries in initialing the provisions of the Schuman Plan is in Department of State Bulletin, April 2, 1951, pp. 523–528.↩