Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western European Security, Volume V, Part 1

Conference files, lot 59 D 95, CF 105

Report of the Conference for the Organization of a European Defense Community to the North Atlantic Council ¹

secret
C9–D/12

Lisbon, 19th February 1952.

Introduction

On 28th November 1951, the Atlantic Council, meeting in Rome, adopted a Resolution stating, among other things:

“The Council hopes that the Paris Conference will conclude its activities at the earliest possible moment so that a definitive report can be made to the Council for consideration at its next meeting.”

The Delegations of the six countries represented at the Paris Conference are therefore submitting to the Atlantic Council the following Report on the results they have achieved in preparing the draft Treaty establishing a European Defence Community.

This report will not go into the details of the circumstances in which the French Government addressed invitations for this Conference to all European States signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty, as well as to the German Federal Republic. The two non-European members of NATO, the United States and Canada, were requested to be represented by observers.

The Conference began work on 15th February, 1951, on the basis of a plan submitted by the French Government. Germany, Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg had decided to accept at once the French invitation, and to take part actively in the work of the Conference. On 8th October, the Netherlands Government decided to join these countries. The other countries considered they could participate in the Conference only as observers. In accordance with the unanimously expressed wishes of the participating states, the representatives of the Atlantic Supreme Command attended the Conference and were responsible for keeping in close touch with the General Staff of the Allied Supreme Commander, Europe. They gave, like the observers of the United States and United Kindom, invaluable technical help every time this was necessary.

The work was continued over a year, except for such interruptions as were necessary to enable delegations to report to their Governments and to receive fresh instructions. The Ministers of the countries represented at the Conference considered it necessary to meet on several occasions to review the situation and jointly give general directives to their experts. Four such meetings were held: in November and December 1951, and, quite recently, on 26th and 27th January 1952.

At the present time, the Conference is proceeding with the preparation of the draft Treaty and the Protocols to be annexed thereto.

As will be seen from this Report, general agreement has been secured on most points. Those still under discussion do not call into question the general organization of the system.

After setting out the objectives and general principles of the plan for a European Defence Community, this Report will review the solutions proposed in the military, institutional, financial and armament fields, and the solution proposed for the status of the Community’s Forces.

I. Objectives and General Principles

1. The Treaty will set out the principal objectives of the member States, and in particular:

• Creation of a Community. —That the final aim is the merging, under common supra-national institutions, of the armed forces of member states with a view to permanently ensuring the defence of Europe and to safeguarding peace against all threats, both present and future.
• —That the moral authority and European character of these Defence Forces will be guaranteed through an integration which will be as complete as possible—insofar as is compatible with military requirements—of the human and material components grouped under a single European political and military Community.
• —That the establishment of a Defence Community of the free peoples of Europe represents an essential step towards achieving a united Europe.
• —That this integration must develop the effectiveness and fighting value of the Western forces without holding up the execution of Atlantic military plans.
• —That the Treaty will in no way discriminate between member countries.

2. To meet common expenditures, the European Defence Community will have a common budget, the burden of which will be shared equitably between member countries.

The European Forces will make use of a common supply system, and a common armament programme will be prepared. This should make possible the standardisation of arms and the specialisation of arms production, thus permitting a better and more economical utilisation of the member countries’ resources. Further, European defence must not interfere with social progress.

In all spheres the European Defence Community will proceed in close co-operation with the nations of the free world, in particular with those of the Atlantic Community.

Peaceful character of the plan. 3. The Delegations which took part in preparing this plan have constantly emphasized that it is of a purely peaceful character, for it has no other object than to assure the defence of Europe against any aggression. The merging of the interests of peoples hitherto opposed is a guarantee for all that nationalistic considerations and the dangers these imply will disappear, to make way for the single will of the European Community. This conception does not in any way bring to an end national patriotisms but superimposes on them a European patriotism.

Placing of European Forces at the disposal of the Supreme Atlantic Command. 4. The six Delegations, considering the dangers which now threaten the world, envisage that as soon as the European Defence Forces have been set up, the Atlantic Supreme Command will be empowered to ensure that the Forces are satisfactorily organised, equipped, trained and ready for duty. As soon as they are in a position to be utilised, these Forces will be at the disposal of the Supreme Atlantic Command which will make the necessary recommendation for the preparation of plans for articulating and allocating them which will then be carried out by the organs of the Community. In wartime, the Atlantic Supreme Command will exercise the operational command of the forces.

From the beginning, the delegations taking part in the Paris Conference studied the military questions submitted to them in constant and close liaison with SHAPE, and they also kept informed of the progress of their discussion the military observers of NATO member countries not participating in the Conference.

II. Military Questions

Principles of integration. 5. The European Defence Forces will be composed of units contributed by the various member States. These forces will be so organized, trained and combined as to make up homogeneous and effective entities.

To this end, common principles will be applied in connection with:

• —Recruiting, partly on conscription, and partly on the basis of regular personnel,
• —the status of personnel,
• —uniform,
• —the administration of the Forces,
• —tactical and technical regulations,
• —the organization of the Forces,
• —equipment,
• —training,
• —the formation of cadres.

The elements so standardised will be integrated, the basic units being of homogeneous nationality, defined for each category of Forces as required for military effectiveness.

Basic Units and level of integration. 6. In the land forces, the basic unit which has been adopted is the “Groupement”, in which the operational functions of the various Arms are combined for the purposes of limited tactical operations. This “Groupement” will carry out the usual tasks of the conventional division, but it will be as streamlined as possible and in particular its supporting services will be very small, which means that it will be closely dependent on the next higher level, namely the Army Corps.

Three types of “Groupements” are foreseen, infantry, armoured and mechanised, composed respectively of 13,000, 12,600 and 12,600 men; these figures represent the effectives required to ensure the immediate combat readiness of the unit, and will be augmented in wartime by the addition of approximately 2,000 men.

The level of integration will be the Army Corps. It will comprise three or four “Groupements” of different nationalities, an integrated General Staff, and integrated tactical and logistical support units (each homogeneous unit corresponding approximately to a regiment).

The overall strength of the integrated European Army Corps will vary. It will be approximately 80,000 when composed of 3 “Groupements”.

The integrated Corps will be the real major battle unit. It will be in a position to rely on its own resources to carry out a complex and prolonged tactical manoeuvre by coordinating the operations of the “Groupements” which it will provide with the necessary support, as it can make available substantial reinforcements. Lastly, it will have considerable logistical resources with which to ensure the maintenance of the subordinate units.

In the Air Forces, the basic Unit which has been adopted is the wing having homogeneous equipment and, comprising for most types of units, 75 aircraft; its organization will resemble that of the United States “wing”. Its numerical strength will be 1,200 to 1,800 men.

The level of integration will be the Air Division, bringing together for a common task wings of different nationalities and of different types. The integrated supporting services and elements will be grouped together on a higher level known as the “Tactical Air Force”.

The European Naval Forces will comprise elements capable of ensuring the coastal defence of the European continent, and will be organised in homogeneous groups including all elements required for the fulfillment of a single tactical task; they will vary according to the sectors of the coastline. The naval elements cannot be integrated in view of their special nature.

In each category of Forces, homogeneous basic Units may be incorporated into NATO formations which are not members of the European Defence Forces and NATO Units may likewise be incorporated into integrated European formations.

7. They will comprise all the land and air Forces of the Member Countries with the following exceptions:

a) Member States may recruit and maintain national Forces for use in the defence of their overseas territories and also Units stationed in their country of origin which are required for the maintenance and relief of those Forces, The total size of such Forces, including maintenance units, should not be so large as to affect the size of each national contribution to the Forces of the Community as laid down by the Treaty. Nevertheless, it was agreed that, in the event of a serious crisis affecting the overseas territory of a Member State, a fraction of the contingent contributed by that State to the European Defence Force will, at its request, be temporarily placed at its disposal by the Board of Commissioners with the approval of the Supreme Commander and after consultation with the Council of Ministers. The contingents detailed for this duty will immediately lose their European Defence character; they will resume it on the completion of their mission when they are returned to the Defence Community. In each individual case, the effects of the withdrawal of such a contingent, particularly in the financial and armament fields, should be the subject of special examination. Definition of the European Defence Forces.

b) Member States may recruit and maintain national Forces to carry out international missions which they have undertaken. This clause will apply in particular to the detachments serving at present in Berlin, Austria and Korea.

c) Member States will be entitled to rotate personnel between the contingents contributed by them to the European Defence Forces and the Forces outside the European Defence Community.

d) Member States may recruit and maintain, on a national basis any necessary police forces and gendarmérie, as well as the Guard for the Head of the State.

e) The internal defence of each national territory against attacks either instigated or launched by an external enemy will be assured by units of European Defence status, which will be used in accordance with the instructions of the authorities specified in NATO Agreements.

f) A special clause of the Treaty provides that, in the event of a serious internal crisis threatening public order, a Member State may call upon units of the European Defence Forces composed of contingents of that State’s nationality.

In the case of the Navy, Forces allocated to the protection of shipping along the coasts of the territory of Member States will be included in the European Defence Forces. The following will remain national Forces: Forces needed to protect overseas territories for the defence of which the Member State has assumed responsibility, and to protect communications with and between such territories, and also Forces carrying out NATO missions agreed prior to the Treaty. This excludes High Seas Naval Forces from the European Defence Force. The use of European Coastal Defence Naval Forces will be controlled by the authorities designated in NATO Agreements.

Size of the European Defence Forces. 8. The draft Treaty says nothing of the anticipated size of the European Defence Forces. These figures will depend on the result of studies carried out elsewhere by the military bodies of NATO and by the Temporary Council Committee known as “The Wise Men”, and on the agreements entered into by the Contracting nations. The objectives to be achieved in 1954 will be included in the Military Protocol annexed to the Treaty.

General Organization. 9. The European Defence Community will include centralized bodies which will be charged with the organization, training, administration and maintenance of the Forces. In order to carry out these tasks, such bodies will have at their disposal, on the one hand, the military Commands described above, and on the other hand, a European territorial military organization.

The nations will remain responsible for certain functions in connection with the European Defence forces (as, for example, recruiting); certain countries will also be entrusted with the task of maintaining Forces which have remained national because of their extra-European commitments.

This means that the European territorial military organization will be controlled by the Board of Commissioners as regards purely European tasks, and should take orders from national bodies as regards tasks for which the latter are responsible.

Centralised national military bodies will only be retained when they are required by those Countries which maintain national Forces because of their extra-European commitments.

Raising of Forces. 10. The raising of the European Defence Forces will be a complex operation, whether it means converting national type Armies with their command and administrative bodies, or creating entirely new contingents within the European Defence framework. It should be carried out in such a way as to ensure that the efficiency of the NATO Forces in Europe is not adversely affected. It is the intention of the Conference that preparations for the raising of these Forces will be made in the interval between the signature of the Treaty and its implementation, and will be carried out over a transitional period.

During the preparatory period, an Interim Committee set up as soon as the Treaty is signed will have the task of preparing the constitution and initial duties of the Board of Commissioners; in each country, on general instructions of the Interim Committee, a Planning Group will develop as far as possible the studies and preparations required for the conversion or creation of units to be carried out without loss of time in the following period.

The operations of the transitional period, which will take place under the instructions of the Board of Commissioners, should be carried out in such a manner that the military organizations already in existence can be converted without any loss of efficiency, and that the new units can be constituted with the desired accuracy and flexibility.

III. Institutions

List of Institutions. 11. As the ultimate aim of the authors of the Treaty was the amalgamation of the Armed Forces of the Member Countries with a view to ensuring the defence of Europe, these Armed Forces must depend on supra-national political institutions. In defining these institutions the draft which was used as a basis for discussions followed the precedent provided by the Coal and Steel Community Treaty, while taking into account the obvious differences between the two cases. The authors of the Treaty were also careful to avoid useless multiplication of the number of institutions and to make use as far as possible of those already planned.

Agreement was reached on the list of institutions of the Community, comprising a Council of Ministers, a General Assembly, a Board of Commissioners (referred to as the Board), and a Court of Justice.

Structure and Functions of the Board of Commissioners. 12. The Board will be composed of nine members appointed for six years and chosen for their general qualifications from the nationals of the Member States. In the carrying out of their of Commissioners. duties, the members of the Board will neither ask for nor receive instructions from any government. They will refrain from any action inconsistent with the supra-national character of their duties. They may not exercise any other professional activity during the period of their service.

The members of the Board will be appointed by agreement between the governments of the Member States. Membership will be renewed by one-third every two years.

The Chairman of the Board will be chosen for four years from the members of the Board and with the agreement of the governments of the Member States. His term of office, like that of the other members, may be renewed.

The decisions of the Board will be taken either collectively, in the case of the more important decisions, or delegated to the members acting individually. In cases where voting is necessary for a collective decision, the decision will be taken by majority vote, the Chairman having a casting vote in the case of a tie.

The duties of the Board will be allocated among the different members. The Chairman will be responsible for coordinating the way in which the different functions are carried out, ensuring implementation of decisions, and administering the services of the Community.

In virtue of its working rules and the responsibilities entrusted to the Chairman, the Board, in spite of the number of its members, will always be capable of taking decisions, if necessary at short notice.

Any member of the Board who ceases to meet with the necessary conditions for the exercise of his functions, or is guilty of a serious offence, may, on a request from the Board or from the Council of Ministers, be declared by the Court to be relieved of his duties. The Council of Ministers may in similar circumstances provisionally suspend him from his duties, pending the judgment of the Court. There may also be brought before the Assembly of the Community a motion of censure on the Board; if this motion is adopted, its members must collectively resign.

The Board will have the following powers with respect to the European Defence Forces:

• —to prepare and implement organizational plans for the Forces;
• —to supervise recruitment activities for the European Defence Forces carried out by the Member States in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty;
• —to carry out the training and equipping of the Defence Forces in accordance with a common plan and methods;
• —to prepare plans, in consultation with the governments of the Member States, for mobilisation of manpower and economic resources;
• —to control the Community’s Training Colleges for officers and specialists;
• —to carry out reviews and inspections of the Forces;
• —to determine, in consultation with the governments of the Member States, the territorial distribution of the Forces within the framework of the recommendations of the Atlantic Command in Europe;
• —to draw up programmes for armaments, equipment and supplies with a view to achieving their standardisation, and to ensure the execution of these programmes, while bearing in mind a homogeneous allocation of armaments;
• —in agreement with the sending governments, to appoint officers in the basic units,^* and to make appointments to the higher ranks with the unanimous agreement of the Council of Ministers;
• —to make appointments to all the offices depending on the Board;
• —to administer staff and equipment;
• —to carry out all necessary liaison with the Member States of NATO and with the international organizations with which cooperation is necessary;
• —to assume important responsibilities with respect to finance and external aid, as indicated later in a chapter of the Report dealing with these subjects.

In order to carry out these responsibilities, the Board will have at its disposal the necessary civilian and military personnel, who will also have supra-national status.

In the exercise of its powers, the Board will take decisions which will be uniformly binding and will make recommendations with binding force so far as the objective to be achieved, but leaving to the States concerned the choice of methods to be employed to achieve the objective.

Functions of the Council of Ministers. 13. The Council of Ministers will be composed of Representatives of the Member States, each state delegating a member of its government. It will be so constituted as to be able to function at any time. To this end Ministers may if necessary be represented by Deputies.

The general task of the Council will be to harmonise the activities of the Board with the policies of the governments of Member States.

To this end it may issue general directives, approve decisions, and in certain special cases it may itself take decisions.

(a) The Council may issue general directives to the Board of Commissioners.

These directives will be agreed unanimously. With respect to questions on which the Council has not had occasion to issue directives, the Board will act of its own accord under conditions specified by the Council, with a view to achieving the objectives laid down by the Treaty.

(b) The Board will request and obtain the approval of the Council of Ministers before taking decisions or making recommendations.

Such approval will require, according to circumstances, a unanimous vote (for example, to settle the total amount of the Budget and the contributions of Member States, to draw up organisational plans for the Forces and to make appointments to higher ranks); or a two-thirds majority (for example, to approve estimates of expenditure and the armaments programme), or a straight majority.

(c) The Council of Ministers will take decisions direct covering a wide sphere, chiefly with respect to alterations to constitutional and statutory texts of the Community (status of personnel, texts relating to general organisation, recruitment, total strengths, officering), and to the plans for the constitution of the European Defence Forces. In such cases the decisions of the Council must be unanimous. Where decisions are taken by a two-thirds majority, the Council may, at the suggestion of one of its members, request the Board to take any measures within the limits of its powers. As noted above, the Council may bring to the notice of the Assembly of the Community a motion of censure on the Board. Appeal may be made to the Council, in the case of a pressing emergency, to take any provisional steps designed to meet the emergency.

It may be deduced from the above that where decision lies with the Council of Ministers, a careful distinction has been made between cases in which unanimous agreement is necessary, in order that member States may have full say in matters which remain national responsibilities; and cases of a straight majority or two-thirds majority vote, which ensure the efficient working of the European Community.

A system has been adopted by means of which voting in the Council of Ministers may be weighted. In cases where decisions are taken by a straight majority, this will be obtained either by four votes in six, or, where there is a tie vote, by the votes of the Representatives of Member States who together make available to the Community at least two-thirds of the actual contributions in men and money to the common budget.

The same principle of weighting has been adopted for the two-thirds majority, i.e. this majority will be obtained by four votes if they include the votes of States providing the two-thirds of the contributions referred to above. No account is taken of abstentions in registering a unanimous vote.

Composition and Functions of the Assembly. 14. The Assembly of the Defence Community will be composed in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of the European Coal and Steel Organisation Treaty, but the German Federal Republic, France and Italy will each nominate 21 Delegates, 18 of which will be members of the Coal and Steel Community Assembly. This composition will be provisional, as explained subsequently.

The functions of the first Assembly will be to take decisions on the motions of censure on the administration of the Board of Commissioners and to give its views on the draft estimates of expenditure prepared by the Board and adopted by the Council under conditions which will be examined later.

The First Assembly will also, as soon as the Treaty comes into force, examine the constitution of a Defence Community Assembly which will be specially elected on a democratic basis, and will study the new powers which might devolve on such an Assembly and also any changes which should be made in the other Institutions of the Community. The Assembly will be guided in its examination by the principle that the final organisation should be so conceived as to be able to constitute one of the elements in a federal or confederal European structure at a later date.

In this connection, the Assembly will examine problems arising from the co-existence of different agencies for European cooperation already established, or which might be established, with a view to ensuring coordination within the framework of a federal or confederal structure.

Proposals by the Assembly in this field will be submitted to the Council of Ministers within six months from the assumption of duties by the Assembly. On the advice of the Council, these proposals will thereafter be transmitted by the Chairman of the Assembly to the governments of the member States, who will, within three months from the date on which the matter has been brought to their notice, call a conference to consider the proposals. If no agreement has been reached in this conference within one year of its first meeting, the provisions relating to the composition of the Assembly will be revised without awaiting the end of the discussions.

15. The Court of Justice will be the same as for the Coal and Steel Community.

Court of Justice. The Court will ensure respect for law in the interpretation and implementation of the Treaty. It will give judgment on appeals concerning the violation of texts or the misuse of its powers by the Board of Commissioners. Any Member State may bring to its notice an appeal against an action of the Board which might give rise to fundamental and recurring disputes among the Member States. In the same way the Court will have limited jurisdiction with regard to the decisions of the Council and the Assembly in civilian and military penal questions.

Adaptation of the Organisation to a Future Federal Structure. 16. It was agreed that the organisation of the institutions described above shall remain in force in its present form until the establishment, as soon as possible, of a federal or confederal structure for Europe. This provision is designed to allow of an adaptation of these bodies to possible new conditions and political institutions in Europe; it does not affect their supra-national character or the general principles on which the Community is based.

The Treaty will be concluded for a lengthy period. Certain delegations have suggested that this period should be fifty years. Other delegations consider that the Treaty should last as long as the North Atlantic Treaty.

Site. 17. The site of the various institutions has not yet been settled. This question will be studied by the Conference as soon as possible.

IV. Financial Questions

Existence of common budget from the entry into force of the Treaty. 18. A common budget will be drawn up for the Community as soon as the Treaty enters into force. The existence of a common budget, its preparation and execution by the Board of Commissioners constitute an essential factor in the unity of the European Army.

The common budget will cover all the revenue and expenditure of the Community. The Treaty lays down methods for its preparation, approval and implementation.

Preparation of the Budget. 19. The revenue of the common budget will be made up of the contributions from Member States, the Community’s own revenue and possibly revenue from external aid.

Subject to special provisions concerning the transitional period which will be set out later, the common budget will be prepared by the Board of Commissioners, who will for this purpose enter into consultation with the national departments. The draft budget will contain in an annex a common plan for armaments, equipment and supplies. The Board will bring the draft budget before the Council of Ministers. The Council will decide the total amount of the budget and the contributions from each Member State. This decision will require a unanimous vote.

The allocation of expenditure among the different chapters of the budget, and the common armaments programme, will be determined by the Council of Ministers, a two thirds majority being necessary.

The common budget of revenue and expenditure, as thus determined by the Council, will be referred in its entirety to the Assembly, which may recommend alterations, but may not increase the sum total of expenditure.

The budget as finally approved by the Council will be executed by the Board of Commissioners.

Contributions from Member States. 20. The contributions from Member States will be determined by the Council of Ministers, in accordance with the procedure adopted by NATO.

The Council will examine a more automatic method of determining contributions. This method will not, however, be put into effect until approved by all Member States. If no agreement is reached on such a method, contributions will continue to be determined in accordance with the former procedure, i.e. that adopted by NATO.

The Governments of Member States will present an annual estimate to their national parliaments of the total contributions, determined as indicated above, by the appropriate authorities of the Defence Community.

These points have all been agreed on in principle by the six Delegations.

The methods of allocating and administering external aid in cash or equipment directly assigned to the Community are still under discussion. It is already agreed that external aid in equipment will be administered by the Board of Commissioners.

Financial commitments already entered into by Member States. 21. As soon as the budget is prepared, the authorities of the European Defence Community will ensure that financial commitments already entered into by Member States in their capacity as NATO members are respected. Contracts placed by Member States with third parties before the entry into force of the Treaty will be carried out insofar as they cannot be altered to the advantage of the Community, and with the agreement of the national authority which placed the contract.

Transfers of Currency. 22. All technical measures will be taken to ensure that the implementation of the budget shall not entail transfers of currency which might threaten the economic and financial stability and the balance of payments of Member States.

In particular, it will be laid down that, unless there is a special agreement to the contrary, a large proportion of the contributions of Member States shall be utilised in the corresponding monetary zone of each Member State. Conversely, and also unless there is a special agreement, the amounts paid in settlement of expenditures in the monetary zone of a Member State will not exceed a certain percentage of the contribution paid by that State.

Transitional financial arrangements. 23. The provisions of the Treaty set out above will come into force during the final pre-federal period which might begin—if the Treaty entered into force some time in 1952—on 1st January, 1954.

The budgetary provisions for the year during which the Treaty is signed will be as follows: as soon as the Treaty is signed, a committee of financial and military experts will draw up a common budget for the remainder of the current civilian year; this budget will have to be drawn up and executed as soon as the Treaty comes into force. This Committee will acquaint itself with existing national budgets and military programmes in progress or contemplated. As there is no German military budget, the German contribution will be determined according to principles similar to those used in NATO in fixing the contributions of other Member States.

On the basis of these various documents, the Committee of Experts will group under a common budget the expenditures of the Community and the corresponding revenue. The total amount of this budget will be made up of the national contributions appearing in the transitional convention, while the division of expenditures will be put to the vote in the Council of Ministers, a two-thirds majority being necessary.

In the execution of this first budget, the Board of Commissioners, in so far as its own services do not enable it to carry out the necessary work, will delegate to the administrative services of each country the task of effecting on its behalf the financial transactions in respect of the European Defence Forces.

The budget provisions for the year which will follow the first financial year of the Community i.e. probably 1953, will be those set out above in respect of the final period. However, it will be specified in the transitional Convention for this initial period that the Community will submit this budget to NATO for its views or for arbitration at the request of any Member State which may consider that the common budget does not permit commitments entered on by that State, vis-à-vis NATO to be carried out. This latter formula is still being studied by delegations.

V. Questions Concerning the Production of Arms, Equipment and Supplies

Principles Governing the Powers of the Board of Commissioners. 24. From the beginning the plan for a European Defence Community provided that the Board would prepare European armaments programmes, on the advice of a Consultative Committee, and be responsible for their execution. That will be a really important function of the Board: the integrated armaments programmes prepared by it, submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval, and financed out of common resources, will be executed under the control of the Board’s services. The task of the latter will be to ensure the most uniform standardization and the greatest specialization possible in military production. All these tasks will be carried out in close liaison with NATO.

In the same original plan it was envisaged that the Board would receive material assistance from the Mutual Aid Programme, which it would allocate in such a way as to create the necessary balance in the arms and equipment of European contingents.

Agreement was reached among the delegations on the essential provisions to figure in the Treaty or the Protocols annexed to it.

The Conference also provided for the establishment of a research group for armaments questions, which will be convened in the period between the signature of the Treaty and its ratification. In order to help the Board to begin exercising its powers in connection with arms, equipment and supplies, this research group will have the task of examining, on the basis of the Articles setting forth the principles, detailed arrangements to guide the action of the Board’s services, as the latter are set up.

Preparation and Execution of Production Programmes. 25. The Board will prepare common programmes for arms, equipment and supplies for the European Defence Forces, in consultation with governments.

The expenditure necessary for the execution of the programmes will be submitted in estimates which will carry in Annex an indication of the execution of the work, by categories and by countries. Approval of the estimates will be equivalent to approval of the programmes.

The Board may prepare arms, equipment and supply programmes extending over a period of several years. It will notify these programmes to the Council and will ask the latter to approve in principle those programmes which include financial commitments extending over several years. Such approval will be obtained in the same conditions as those governing the approval of the estimates.

The Board will ensure the execution of the common arms, equipment and supply programmes for the European Defence Forces in consultation with the Council and member governments, and in the best interests of the Community.

The methods of executing the programmes will be defined in a convention annexed to the Treaty.

In the preparation and execution of the common arms, equipment and supply programmes of the European Defence Forces, the Board shall:

(a) Make the best possible use of the technical and economic skills of each member state and avoid creating serious disturbances in the economy of any member state;

(b) take account of the contributions to be provided by member states, and respect the regulations set forth in the Treaty with regard to monetary transfers;

(c) simplify and standardize arms, equipment and supplies as much and as rapidly as possible.

The Council may give the Board general directives within the framework of the principles outlined above.

In order that the Board may be in a position to appreciate the economic and social consequences of the execution of the programmes, it will be assisted by a Consultative Committee. The draft Treaty defines the circumstances and manner in which the Committee will be consulted, and lays down the composition of the body in question, in which producers and workers will be represented in equal numbers.

Powers of the Board of Commissioners in periods of shortages. 26. In periods of normal economic activity, the placing of military orders presents no special difficulty. On the other hand, in periods of great economic activity and of full employment, which always coincide with periods in which military requirements are considerable (and this is the case in the present period), the realisation of an arms programme would be likely to be seriously compromised if the Board did not dispose of certain powers.

If the Board finds that the execution of all or part of a programme is meeting with such difficulties that it cannot be carried out, for example, as a result of a shortage in the supply of raw materials, a lack of equipment or installed capacities, or abnormally high prices, or that the execution of the programme cannot be carried out within the time required, it should inform the Council of the position and discuss with it the best method of overcoming the difficulties.

The Council, by a unanimous vote, will decide, in consultation with the Board, the measures to take to ensure the execution of the programme as approved.

Failing a unanimous decision by the Council as to the measures referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Board, after consultation with the Governments concerned, will make recommendations to them to ensure that orders are placed and executed within the time limits laid down in the programme and at prices which are not abnormally high, taking into account the necessity to share as fairly as possible the charges resulting from such orders with regard to the economies of member states.

Scientific research. 27. A problem directly linked with the question of equipping and arming the Forces is that of research in the military field. Here, too, it is provided that the Board will draw up a common scientific and technical research programme in the military field and will decide how it will be carried out. This programme will be subject to the Council’s approval under the same conditions as the common arms, equipment and supply programmes of the European Defence Forces. The Board will be responsible for carrying out the common research programme.

The Board, finally, will be responsible for relations with the technical Atlantic agencies with regard to arms questions interesting the Community, and also with third party states with a view to preparing mutual aid programmes.

Production, import and export permits. 28. To ensure the proper implementation of the arms programme, and also to safeguard the internal and external security of the Community, it is provided that the following will be subject to authorization to be given in advance by the Board: Production of war material, the import and export of war material coming from or going to third party states, the setting on foot of arrangements leading directly to the production of war material, the production of prototypes, and technical research relating to war material.

With regard to war material intended for forces retaining their national character, the Board will deliver a general permit and establish a control to ensure that the countries granted such a permit do not make use of it beyond their requirements.

Customs and fiscal system. 29. The draft Treaty, finally, will refer to certain special provisions relating to the customs and fiscal system in respect of equipment and supplies.

VI. Questions Concerning the Status of the European Defence Forces

Questions regarding the status of the Forces. 30. A Special Committee of the Conference composed of experts of the six delegations was charged with the preparation of draft texts dealing with the status of the European Defence Forces. Forces in the legal, fiscal and customs spheres, and in those of public security and the use of public services by the Community.

These various questions, which are still being examined, will only be covered in the Treaty itself by general principles. They will continue to be examined by the competent committee and will be dealt with in a Protocol which will have the same legal validity as the Treaty, and will enter into force at the same time as it.

VII. Transitional Arrangements

31. The Conference agreed that on certain points the Treaty would have to provide for transitional arrangements necessary to ensure in the most favourable circumstances the establishment of the institutions and the raising of the Forces of the Community.

conclusion

Aware of the need to create without delay a European Force to be included in the Atlantic Forces sufficiently powerful to act as a deterrent against any intended aggression, the Governments represented at the Paris Conference never lost sight, throughout their work, of the following essential preoccupations: To create a European Defence Community which can fulfill the imperative requirements of military effectiveness; to give the Western World a guarantee against the rebirth of conflicts which have divided it in the past; and to give an impetus to the achievement of a closer association between the Member countries on a federal or confederate basis.

The six Governments have advanced so far in their discussions that it is possible to envisage within a short period the final drafting and signature of the Treaty and of the Protocols attached to it, which will ensure the creation of the European Defence Community.

It is for the Atlantic Council to decide whether the European Forces thus constituted fulfill the conditions formulated during its previous Sessions.

1. This report was presented to the North Atlantic Council at its third meeting, Feb. 22, 1952; see telegram Secto 49, Feb. 22, from Lisbon, p. 136. The Council approved the report at that meeting.

   Regarding the preparation and approval of this report by the Paris Conference, see telegram 4774, Feb. 6, from Paris, p. 609.

2. Any State may select a procedure whereby its appropriate authorities may make nominations on the proposal of the Board. [Footnote in the source text.]