Editorial Note
From September 28 to October 3, 1954, a Nine-Power Conference was held in London to deal with the question of the association of the Federal Republic of Germany with the West and a German contribution to the Western European defense system. The Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Canada, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, [Page 1849] Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States held 14 plenary meetings during the 6 days of the conference in an attempt to reach agreement on these issues. The Foreign Ministers of France, Federal Republic of Germany, United Kingdom, and United States also held five meetings concerning matters relating to their occupation status in Germany. In addition to the Nine-Power Conference and the Four-Power Conference, numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings occurred which dealt with conference matters as well as other subjects of common interest. By Sunday, October 3, agreement had been reached on the Final Act of the Nine-Power Conference which incorporated many decisions affecting the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, NATO, and the Brussels Treaty Organization. It was decided to end the occupation regime in the Federal Republic of Germany, revoke the Occupation Statute, abolish the Allied High Commission, strengthen the Brussels Treaty Organization by inviting Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany to join, and recommend that NATO invite the Federal Republic of Germany to become a member.
Between October 3 and October 20, when the Foreign Ministers met again in Paris, the formulation of the necessary instruments to implement these decisions took place. Final agreement was reached on the texts of these documents during meetings of the Nine-Power Conference, Four-Power Conference, and NATO Ministerial Council from October 20 to October 23, with the formal signing ceremonies of the “Paris Agreements” on Saturday, October 23.
For comprehensive documentation on the London and Paris phases of the Nine-Power and Four-Power Conferences, including the texts of conference documents, see pages 1294 ff.