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

Conference files, lot 59 D 95, CF 105

Joint Report by the North Atlantic Council Deputies and the Military Committee to the North Atlantic Council ¹

secret
C9–D/7 (Revise)

21st February 1952.

German Participation in Western Defence

1. At its Sixth Session in Brussels in December 1950, the Council approved the joint report on the German contribution to the defence of Western Europe by the North Atlantic Council Deputies and the Military Committee (C6–D/1²). The Council invited the Occupying Powers to discuss with the German Federal Republic the question of German participation in the defence of Western Europe and took note of the French Government’s intention to call a conference of the countries, including the German Federal Republic, which might wish to participate in a European Army. At its Seventh Session in Ottawa in September 1951, the Council received a report from the Occupying Powers that the discussions between them and the German Federal Republic had been discontinued in the expectation that the solution to this problem would be provided by the results of the Conference on the European Defence Force.³

2. At its Eighth Session, the Council received a further report on the status of negotiations for the establishment of a European Defence Community,⁴ and requested the appropriate North Atlantic Treaty agencies 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.

3. The Council Deputies have prepared a report on the relations between the European Defence Community and NATO (D–D(52) 35 (Final))⁵ and the Military Committee has prepared a report on the military effectiveness of the arrangements proposed by the Paris Conference on the European Defence Community (M.C. 40(Final)⁶). These reports have been considered by the Council Deputies and the Military Committee in joint session and are submitted separately for consideration by the Council.

4. In addition to the above reports, the Council will have before it, at its Ninth Session, a report from the Paris Conference on the European Defence Community⁷ and a report by the Occupying Powers on the proposed contractual arrangements with the German Federal Republic.⁸

5. The Council Deputies and the Military Committee have discussed whether the security safeguards for which the Occupying Powers are responsible under the Brussels Agreement will become unnecessary as a result of the creation of the European Defence Community. The Council Deputies and the Military Committee consider that insofar as such safeguards are not rendered unnecessary by the creation of the European Defence Community or by the altered circumstances the responsible Powers shall see to it that they are provided for in any general settlement with the German Federal Republic.

6. The Council Deputies and the Military Committee recommend that the reports be adopted by the North Atlantic Council, and that it approve the attached resolution which is proposed jointly by the Council Deputies and the Military Committee.⁹

1. This report was considered and approved by the North Atlantic Council at its third meeting, Feb. 22; see telegram Secto 49, Feb. 22, from Lisbon, p. 136.
2. Regarding this document, see footnote 2, p. 247.
3. Documentation on the Seventh Session of the North Atlantic Council held in Ottawa in September 1951 is printed in Foreign Relations, 1951, vol. iii, Part 1, pp. 616 ff.
4. For the report under reference here, see ibid., p. 933.
5. Dated Feb. 20, p. 247.
6. Not printed.
7. Document C9–D/12, Feb. 19, p. 230.
8. Document C9–D/16, Feb. 21, is not printed, but see footnote 5, p. 137.
9. The texts of the draft resolution and the draft protocol attached to the source text are not printed here; differences between these drafts and the texts approved by the Council on Feb. 22 are indicated in annotations to the approved texts printed in document C9–D/19, infra.