“FRENCH, GERMAN ANIMOSITY”

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26659, 19 February 1952, Page 7

“FRENCH, GERMAN ANIMOSITY”

Problem For Foreign Ministers (Bee. 8 p.m.) LONDON. Feb. 18. Developments which suggest that the talks between Mr Eden, Mr Acheson, and Mr Schuman now proceeding in Paris will be of outstanding importance, are described by the diplomatic correspondent of the “Manchester Guardian” as the sudden upsurge of French and German uiimosity and mutual suspicion during the last fortnight, the set-back which the European Defence Community plans have suffered, the failure to make any appreciable progress towards the completion of a so-called peace contract with the Federal German Republic, and the prospect of a largely abortive meeting of the Atlantic Council in Lisbon this The correspondent continues: “Unless substantial agreement can be reached not only on three important issues relating to the Federal Republic’s contribution to Western defence and to the safeguards against revived German militarism required by the Western Powers, but also on the aide differences which recent debates in the German Bundestag and the French Chamber have revealed on such questions as the future of the Saar and German association with N.A.TJD., then it seems quite possible that there will be no European Army and the Western world will have to think again about the whole question of f he German contribution to Western defence. Three Urgent Problems “The three major problems which must be solved before a peace contract or contractual treaties with Germany can be completed relate to Germany s financial contribution to the European Defence Community, to war criminals, and to the security controls necessary to prevent Germany from becoming a military power in her own right. "These issues will presumably form item I of the three Foreign Ministers’ agenda. Each is extremely complicated. Tnere is no doubt that the Americans are exasperated at the set-back recent developments' 1 have given to the defence community plans. Mr Acheion ear. be expected to be fairly forthright on this subject. "There is little doubt that once again important decisions by N.A.T.O. Will have to be postponed to allow the six European Army powers to complete their plans. "It had been hoped that the Lisbon council meeting would be able to take the final decisions on relations between itself and the defence community. “Since treaties setting up the community will not be signed, or even finally completed, before the Lisbon meeting, which opens on Wednesday, it is considered in both British and French quarters to be very doubtful whether any decisions in this field can be taken at Lisbon. "Americans and Canadians, however, ire not convinced that this problem eould not be profitably discussed, or that decisions could not be taken if they were made contingent on the coming into being of the defence community."