10. Editorial Note

The Ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Council held at Paris, December 14–17, was attended by the Foreign Ministers of the 15 member countries. The United States Delegation was headed by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, United States Permanent NATO Representative George W. Perkins, Secretary of the Treasury George H. Humphrey, Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson, and Director of the International Cooperation Administration John B. Hollister.

The Secretary of State and his advisers left Washington on December 13. In his departure statement, Dulles stated the Foreign Ministers of the Allied countries would discuss military matters and exchange views about the significance of Soviet actions in recent months. For text of his statement, see Department of State Bulletin, December 26, 1955, page 1048.

The most extensive body of documentation of this meeting is maintained in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 60 D 627, CF 633–645. CF 633 and 634 contain a set of briefing papers for the delegation on topics likely to be discussed in Paris. CF 635 contains a copy of the meeting’s agenda and copies of the reports submitted for discussion to the Council. CF 636 contains a copy of the agenda of the meeting and United States position papers. CF 637, 638, and 639 [Page 27] contain copies of the PoltoTopol, SectoTosec, and DulteTedul telegrams, respectively, which summarize the meetings and bilateral talks and include the exchanges between the Secretary’s party and Washington during the Paris visit. CF 640 contains the briefing papers for the bilateral talks with the British and French Ministers. CF 641 contains papers dealing with the administrative details of the meeting. CF 642 contains a list of the United States Delegation and a chronology of the events of December 14. CF 643 contains a list of each country’s delegation and the summary and verbatim records, documents and telegrams describing the meetings held on December 15. CF 644 contains a copy of the final communiqué and summary telegrams, records, and documents describing the meetings held on December 16. CF 645 contains copies of telegrams summarizing Dulles’ bilateral talks with foreign leaders on December 17. Reports and documents, which discuss preparations for the meeting and summarize the proceedings, and duplicate copies of the telegrams described above are ibid., Central Files, 740.5.

During his stay in Paris, Dulles discussed problems of mutual concern with the Foreign Ministers. At a meeting with Macmillan on December 15, Dulles discussed European integration, Eden’s forthcoming visit to Washington, China trade matters, and Allied troop costs in Germany. Their conversation about Cyprus is summarized in Secto 7, December 17, scheduled for publication in a forthcoming Foreign Relations volume. Later that day, he discussed United Nations matters, the Aswan Dam, and control of arms in the Middle East with Pinay and Macmillan. The next day, he discussed Cyprus with Theotoky. On December 17, he discussed Israel’s arms request with Macmillan and the Far East, Morocco, and Vietnam with Pinay. His conversation with Monnet about European integration is summarized in Document 138. His conversation with Spaak on the same subject is summarized in Document 140. His conversation with von Brentano on Soviet relations with the German Federal Republic is summarized in Secto 23, December 17, scheduled for publication in a forthcoming Foreign Relations volume. Their conversation about a European community approach to an atomic energy pool is summarized in Document 141. Copies of the telegrams and documents summarizing these discussions are in Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 60 D 627, CF 643, 644, and 645.

The Council meeting followed the agenda below:

I.
Report by the Secretary General of Progress During the Period 1st May to 30 November 1955
II.
Review of the International Situation
(a)
Current Soviet Trends and Intentions
(b)
Comparison of Economic Trends in NATO and Soviet Countries: Interim Report by the Working Group
III.
NATO Defence Planning
IV.
The Implementation of Article 2
V.
Any Other Business
VI.
Date and Place of the Next Ministerial Meeting
VII.
Communiqué

The text of the final communiqué issued on December 16 is printed in Department of State Bulletin, December 26, 1955, pages 1047–1048.

Because the documentation covering this meeting is extensive, the editors are presenting a selection of the most significant documents which best illustrate the main points of the Council’s discussions pertaining to NATO.