France and the European Defence Community

1954 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
John Goormaghtigh
Keyword(s):  
European Defence Community

European Defence Community

1954 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-601
Keyword(s):  
Federal Republic ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
The Other ◽  
German Federal Republic ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
French Government ◽  
Foreign Ministers ◽  
European Defence Community

The six signatories of the European Defense Community Treaty — France, the German Federal Republic, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg —met in Brussels from August 19 to 22 to consider changes in the treaty which the French Premier, Pierre Mendès-France, felt were essential if it were to be ratified by the French National Assembly. Such a meeting had been proposed by Mr. Spaak, Belgian Foreign Minister, and endorsed by the other Foreign Ministers of the Benelux nations on June 22. After a meeting with Mr. Spaak in Paris on June 30, Mr. Mendes-France agreed on the usefulness of such a meeting as soon as the French government had made known its views on the treaty as it stood at that time and before the French National Assembly voted on its ratification.

The Beyen Plan (1951-1954)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Segers
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Common Market ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Dutch Government ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Hague ◽  
Alliance Building ◽  
European Defence Community

The rapid expansion of European integration after 1950 triggered lasting existential unease in The Hague, fuelling fierce Dutch revisionism. Alliance-building with supporters of Atlantic free trade remained a priority, and swift British (and Scandinavian) accession to the ‘Small Europe’ of the Six was seen as essential. The Dutch government had therefore been very sceptical about the proposed European Defence Community (EDC); after this failed in 1954, Dutch policymakers feared new negotiations for a relance européenne would strengthen Small Europe and its built-in traditions of politicisation and dirigisme. Ironically, the Common Market – proposed by Dutch Foreign Minister Johan Willem Beyen, and eventually enormously profitable for the Dutch export economy – was considered a ruse when it was presented in the Hague.

The European Defence Community: A History

1980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Fursdon
Keyword(s):  
European Defence Community

The European Defence Community

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
West Germany ◽  
National Defense ◽  
World War ◽  
European Continent ◽  
The North ◽  
Major Increase ◽  
Council Of Ministers ◽  
National Governments ◽  
European Defence Community

In 1950, France, West Germany, Italy, and the Benelux countries started talks that would culminate in a treaty for a European Defence Community (EDC), a treaty that was signed but never ratified. The initiative for a common European army was the French response to the American demand for a rearmed Germany. Against the background of the North Korean invasion of the South in June 1950 and the numerical superiority of Soviet conventional ground forces on the European continent, US President Truman wanted to see the major increase in US defense capacity in Europe compensated by an equivalent effort in Europe, including a rearmament of Germany. For France, such rearmament, only five years after the end of World War II, was politically unacceptable. With the support of Jean Monnet, Prime Minister René Pléven proposed a scheme for a European army operating within the framework of a single political and military authority. The plan included a European defense minister, appointed by national governments and responsible to a Council of Ministers and a European Assembly. While each state would retain national defense and command structures, there would be no German defense ministry or army. The German troops would be recruited directly into the European army. The Treaty creating a European Defence Community was signed in Paris on May 27, 1952, by all six negotiation parties (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, and Germany), but was not ratified by France, the initiator of the initiative. On August 30, 1954, the French Assembly decided not to put the EDC treaty to a vote, meaning that it in effect rejected the proposal for a European army. The problem of German rearmament was ultimately addressed by admitting West Germany into the Western Union, which was renamed the Western European Union, and by welcoming it as a member of NATO.

The Last Piece of the Jigsaw: Britain and the Creation of the Western European Union, 1954

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Deighton
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Cold War ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Political Community ◽  
West Germany ◽  
International Debate ◽  
The North ◽  
Western European ◽  
European Defence Community

By 1955, the formation of a Cold War bloc in Western Europe was complete. The Western European Union (WEU), a redesigned Brussels Treaty Organisation (BTO) within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with West Germany and Italy as members, was created. The 1954 Paris Agreements that established WEU also enabled West Germany to become a virtually sovereign actor, and a member of NATO. The Agreements were effected on the rubble of an acrimonious four-year international debate over a proposed European Defence Community (EDC). This would have created a European army for France, the Benelux countries, Italy and West Germany on the model of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and a parallel political community for the Six.

The European Defence Community and the Western European Union: An Agonizing Dilemma

1955 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Bebr
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Western European ◽  
European Defence Community
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document