Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Western European Security and Integration, Volume IV

113. Telegram From the Ambassador in France (Dillon) to the Department of State¹

Paris, July 18, 1955—2 p.m.

261. For Merchant from Dillon. I am transmitting this message to Geneva because of probability that French will raise subject towards end of week with either Secretary or President or both.²

Rene Mayer lunched with me yesterday. He told me that he was more convinced than ever of necessity for continued progress towards unification of Europe. He said this was necessary both for obvious economic reasons and even more important to provide a pole of attraction to hold peoples of the West together against the ideological push of Communist powers. He said he felt this was particularly important for the Socialist parties of West Europe. If the movement toward European unity ceased to be concrete reality Socialists would lose it as an issue and would be forced to return to their fundamental Marxist philosophy which would make it more difficult for them to resist Communist appeals for united action. Mayer said there were three concrete steps now possible.

(a) A move toward some form of monetary accord providing at least partial convertibility among member countries of the Coal and Steel Community with the possibility of this partial convertibility being extended to additional countries.

(b) Expansion of the Coal and Steel pool to include some sort of close relationship with Switzerland and Austria. He said negotiations with Switzerland were well advanced towards an agreement for association generally similar to that with England.

(c) Creation of a European atomic energy pool.

Mayer felt that the latter step was most important as indicating a concrete and immediate step in the direction of European unity and was of even greater importance for its long range effects. He said that the only difficulty with the creation of this pool was the special position of France which had substantially more knowledge on atomic energy than any of the other countries who would join this pool. He did not think there was any possibility that the British would join and felt that their representation at Brussels was merely for the purpose of getting first hand information on developments.

Mayer said that to prevent the European atomic energy pool from becoming a political football in the French Parliament and provoking an alliance of extreme right and left wing elements in the French Assembly against this European proposal, it would be absolutely essential that other countries coming into the pool contribute what they can so that the French Government could tell the Assembly that in joining the pool they were obtaining certain concrete advantages in return for the contribution of French technical knowhow. Mayer said that the one case in point was Belgium with her sources of uranium in the Congo. He said that the French fully understood the necessity for the large United States share in the Congo output, as, after all, this ore was being used for the protection of the free world. Mayer felt that the essential point must be an agreement in principle that Belgium would contribute to the European pool a substantial share of the uranium ore which is left to her under the Belgian-United States agreement. He said further that Congo uranium was important to the pool as it could be produced at a price very much cheaper than French uranium which is the only other source presently available to the European pool.

Rene Mayer said he had not talked to Spaak in Brussels about this matter as he considered it to be a governmental question between France and Belgium and in view of his present international position he considered it improper for him to discuss the question with Spaak. He said that he wanted the United States however to be in no doubt as to the great importance which he attached to the prompt creation of a European atomic energy pool and as to his view that this would require a contribution by Belgium of Congo uranium.

Mayer expressed full confidence in Gaillard, who is heading the French Delegation at Brussels and said he expected Gaillard to make a number of very concrete and constructive proposals at the meeting opening today, the 18th, in Brussels. He said he expected Gaillard to go to Geneva at the end of the week to report on the progress at Brussels and that he considered it likely that either Pinay or Faure or both would raise the question of the United States attitude toward a European atomic energy pool with either the Secretary or the President or both.

Dillon

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 840.00/7–1855. Secret. Also sent to Geneva and repeated for information to Brussels.
2. Secretary Dulles and President Eisenhower were in Geneva for the Heads of Government Conference, July 18–23, attended by delegations from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union.