THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE COMMUNITY: A HISTORY

Transcription

1 THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE COMMUNITY: A HISTORY

2 Also by Major-General Edward Fursdon GRAINS OF SAND THERE ARE NO FRONTIERS

3 The European Defence Community: A History Major-General Edward Fursdon, M.B.E., M.Liu., Ph.D.

4 Edward Fursdon 1980 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission First published 1980 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos Melbourne New York Singapore Tokyo British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Fursdon, Edward The European Defence Community I. European Defence Community I. Title ' 1 UA646.3 ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / This book is sold subject to the standard conditions oj the Net Book Agreement

5 Contents Acknowledgements Note Page Vll Vlll I. INTRODUCTION PART I- THE STAGE IS SET 2. SETTING THE STAGE European Unity. European Economic Unity. European Security. Constituting the German Federal Republic. Development of the Atlantic Defence Framework I I 3. I 950-THE FATEFUL YEAR 50 The Schuman Plan. Politico-Military Developments. The Pleven Plan. The Spofford Proposals. The Way Ahead PART II- THE NEGOTIATIONS AND THE EDC TREATY 4 THE LONG APPROACH 105 The Paris and Petersberg Interrelationship. The New Course. The Rome Meeting and its Aftermath. Supranationality and the Threat of Failure. Progress Restored. The Signing of the Treaty 5 THE EDC TREATY AND ITS ASSOCIATED PROTOCOLS, AGREEMENTS AND DECLARATIONS 150 The Treaty. The Protocols. Declarations, Associated Treaties, Agreements and Exchanges of Letters v

6 Vl Contents PART III-RECO.NSIDERA TIO.N 6. SECOND THOUGHTS Comparative Analysis of the EDC Treaty in relation to other Security Treaties. The Interim Committee. Attitudes of the Participants and Observers. Alternatives to EDC. Doubts and Delays. The Additional Protocols. The United States Administration Changes. Franco German Developments. Article 38 and the Ad Hoc Assembly. Pursuit of the Elusive: Ratification. The Deepening of the French Dilemma 7 PRELUDE TO FAILURE 227 The Bermuda Conference. 'The Agonising Reappraisal'. The Berlin Conference. The Pressure Builds Up. The Geneva Conference 8. LA RONDE EST COMPLETE 266 M. Mendes-France. The International Situation. Geneva Resumed. The Developing Drama. The Brussels Conference and the Chartwell Meeting. The French Assembly Debate and Vote PART IV-POSTSCRIPT TO FAILURE 9 THE HISTORIC AFTERMATH 303 International Reaction to the EDC's Defeat. The Crystallisation of Events. The Eden Tour of European Capitals. The London Conference. The Paris Conference. The Second French Assembly Debate. Finale 10. THE EXPERIENCE 340 Bibliography 344 Index 353

7 Acknowledgements I wish to express my thanks for all the invaluable help and advice I have been given by so many people in the preparation of this book. Their interest, co-operation and encouragement has been a most welcome and necessary source of inspiration over the years of work. I wish especially to thank my wife; all those who allowed me to interview them, correspond with them or consult their documents; all those who gave permission for me to quote them; and also the following who in their various ways made particular personal contributions for which I am deeply grateful: Barbara Dive Lieutenant-Colonel Ken Grapes David Greenwood Richard Groom Air Commodore John Herrington Philip Lough Richard Mayne Margaret McRobb Mrs J. L. Morgan Barbara Rawlings Ted Rowe Oberst-Leutnant Wolfgang Schreiber Lieutenant-Commander Jan Willem van Waning Jackie Wallis To those who gave permission for interview records to be made, but whom I have subsequently been unable to re-contact, I unreservedly apologise in advance for any views or comments which quite unintentionally I may have misrepresented. Vll

8 Note The author of this book is currently a Major-General in the British Army. The research and preparatory work for it have been undertaken in his own time and at his own initiative over a period of five years. The book is, therefore, completely unofficial and the views expressed are those of the author alone and not of Her Majesty's Government. It is necessarily based on unclassified sources. Neither Her Majesty's Government nor any of its Departments have commissioned or approved the book; nor have they endorsed any factual accuracy, opinion or conclusion expressed therein. viii