Political Union Talks Fail

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29802, 19 April 1962, Page 13

Political Union Talks Fail

(N.Z.P.A .-Reuter—Copyright) PARIS, April 18. Holland and Belgium yesterday refused to sign a treaty for the political * union of Europe as long as Britain had not joined the European Common Market.

The French Foreign Office spokesman said the six Common Market Foreign Ministers’ meeting on a political union ended in failure because of this basic disagreement. A Belgian spokesman said it was agreed that Britain would be kept informed of the progress of political discussions, would be able to give her views on them, and would not be faced with a fait accompli. The Foreign Ministers met to discuss the French-backed fouchet plan for a political union. They decided to meet again in Athens next month. A week ago the Minister in charge of Britain’s negotiations with the Common Market (Mr Heath), said Britain did not wish to participate in the talks for a European political union before she had entered the Common Market although she was interested in those talks.

At that time, French diplomats were already nervous lest this speech constituted an encouragement to Belgium and Holland to shelve the European political union talks.

One high-ranking French diplomat said then: "Britain may have to pay dearly in Brussels (in the Common Market, talks), if the European union talks fail after Mr Heath’s speech.” General de Gaulle was reported last night to have taken this setback to his European objective calmly. U.S. Regret In Washington, United States officials expressed regret at the failure of the meeting of Common Market Foreign Ministers in Paris but said that the breakdown in negotiations on a treaty of political union appeared to be only temporary. The officials noted that the Ministers had agreed to meet again next month in Athens and said that the failure of the Paris talks did not seem to pose problems of overriding urgency. A French Government spokesman, announcing yes-

terday the failure of the meeting, said that the talks had broken down over the question of Britain's entry into the Common Market. Officials in Washington said that while the United States had always strongly supported moves by the six Common Market members toward closer political union, there was sympathy in Washington for the views of the smaller European countries.