European Community of Defense

Origins

The idea, suggested by Jean Monnet, is to create a European armed including/understanding German quotas, and this with less than five years of the end of the Second world war. The proposal is made by the president of the Council, Rene Pleven, and is approved the October 26th 1951 with the National Assembly by 343 votes against 225.

Operation

The treaty instituting the CED is adopted by the French governments, German (FRG), Italian and of the Benelux by the Traité of Paris of May 27th, 1952.

The treaty envisages an European Community of defense, placed within the framework of NATO, functioning institutionnellement under the profile of the European Coal and Steel Community. Four institutions are installation:

a police station integrated, which plays the part of executive power, composed of 9 members (2 French, 2 Germans, 2 Italians and 1 of each Benelux country).
the Council of Ministers, organization of head office made up of the minister of each Member State, the purpose of which is the harmonization of the action of the police station with the policy of the Member States.
the Parliament, identical to that of the pool coal-steel, which chapote and controls the unit. It is made up of 87 national delegates (21 for France, Germany and Italy, 10 for Belgium and the Netherlands and 4 for Luxembourg).
the Court of justice, which is used as referee between the various organizations.

Ratifications

In France, the debate is sharp and the discussions last for ever. The critics of the treaty are numerous. Those of the gaullists relate to the inexistence of political Europe and the placement of the CED under supervision of NATO. For the communist , the hegemonic imperialism of the Western camp, symbolized by the warmonger attitude of NATO accentuating the division of both Allemagnes, seeks to isolate the camp from the Eastern democracies of Europe.

The August 30th 1954, the French National Assembly, with the opposition of the communist and the gaullists of RPF, of part of the socialist and radical , refuses to ratify the treaty by adopting a preliminary question. The fear of German rearmament weighed heavy in this decision. The Italian government, it either, did not ratify the treaty, because it awaited the French decision to decide.

Consequences

German rearmament takes another way consequently. Instead of being integrated into Europe Western, it becomes autonomous thanks to the Accords of Paris and London of the autumn 1954.

The failure of the CED freezes the process of European unification for a time. A revival takes shape however in 1955 with the Conférence of Messine and, in 1957, the treated of Rome instituting the Common Market European (the EEC) and Euratom are signed.

A half-century will have to be practically waited, with the Yugoslav crisis in particular, so that the question of the European military cooperation is started again, under the impulse of PESD.

See too

Internal bond

List of international alliances of the Cold war

External bonds

the construction of the European Union and great military programmes of strategic interest by the Commander Denis Chevillot.
Treated of Paris: * Quarrel of the CED: * Treaty establishing the European Community of defense European NAvigator
Evolution of European defense: Presentation of the concept foreign Eurocorps-Legion with the European Parliament in June 2003

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