177. Message From Prime Minister Macmillan to President Eisenhower0
Since our discussion in Paris with President de Gaulle about improving co-operation between our three
Governments1 we here have been thinking about the
methods to use. The United States, France and the United Kingdom have
between them an overwhelming responsibility for the wise direction of
Western alliances. We are also, as powers victorious in the last War, in
a special position with regard to Germany. On the other hand, we do not
want unduly to offend our various other allies by seeming ostentatiously
to exclude them from our deliberations.
I expect that you and President de
Gaulle will have ideas on all this, and I suggest that
the Foreign Ministers should discuss the problem when they meet in
Washington early next week. Meanwhile I thought it might be helpful to
send to you and to President de
Gaulle the enclosed memorandum which attempts to explore
some of the possibilities as regards mechanics for consultation between
us. I feel that by moving along the lines of this memorandum we should
be able to develop better between us a common attitude towards the great
global problems, upon our handling of which the peace of the world and
the security of the West so much depend.
[Enclosure]
2
MECHANICS OF TRIPARTITE CONSULTATION
- (a)
-
The main instrument of tripartite consultation, apart from
personal meetings of Heads of Governments, to supplement
normal diplomatic exchanges, should be meetings between the
Foreign Ministers. They already meet four times a year; the
United Nations General Assembly, in May and December each
year at NATO and also at
the SEATO Ministerial
Meeting. In the past there have been other additional
meetings. The aim should be for them to meet about every two
or three
[Page 371]
months,
using these other occasions for the most part. When they
meet adequate time should be set apart for tripartite
discussion. Their agenda for such discussion should be
prepared in advance with approval from the Heads of
Government and any necessary papers should be prepared and
circulated before each meeting. In arranging the agenda
Ministers should feel free to suggest any subject or problem
with which the three Governments were concerned. This would
include both concrete and immediate problems, and also
long-term questions of a more general character requiring
harmonisation of the future policies of the three
Governments.
Each Foreign Minister would designate a member of his Foreign
Office—perhaps a Counsellor—to be directly responsible for
preparing the agenda, circulating papers and ensuring that
the subsequent follow up action is taken. These three
officers could correspond directly with each other in the
intervals between the Ministerial meetings but should not be
regarded as constituting a formal Secretariat.
Should it be desirable or necessary for any preliminary work
to be done on a tripartite basis before a meeting of
Ministers, this should be performed in the place where the
Ministerial meeting is to be held by a small working group
of officials, i.e. representatives of the two Embassies and
the home Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assisted where
necessary by expert advisers.
The Foreign Ministers should report to the Heads of
Governments the result of each meeting.
- (b)
- The Heads of Governments might also supplement their direct
correspondence by meeting either bilaterally or tripartitely in
an informal way at intervals. Care will have to be taken,
however, that such meetings do not upset the susceptibilities of
other Governments and the aim should be to have it accepted that
the Heads of Governments can meet without formality and without
it becoming a State occasion, i.e. no Press Conferences or
communiqués or Parliamentary statements.
