£1,250,000,000 ALREADY GIVEN“U.S. Aid Has Faded To Put Europe On Road To Self-support”

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 September 1949, Page 5

£1,250,000,000 ALREADY GIVEN—“U.S. Aid Has Faded To Put Europe On Road To Self-support”

PARIS, Sepember 1 (Rec 11 a.m.) —More than £1,250,000,000 in American aid had failed to put Europe on the road to self-support, says a report submitted today to the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation by the organisation s chairman, Baron Snoy, and secretary-general, Mr Robert Marjolin. The report said: If it was at one time our belief that European recovery was proceeding fast enough to make it possible to achieve viability in 1952, we must now admit that the rate of progress is not sufficient. The dollar problem, despite the improvement over the last two years, is not on the way to solution. - ; “This is not solely a European problem. It is a problem for the United States as much as for Europe and also for the whole of the free world.

“The fundamentals of this problem must be reconsidered at a very early date. As soon as the present difficulties have been overcome the organisation will have to concentrate all its energies to ,this end. . “The amount of aid available is not sufficient to meet all the deficits, as they have been increased by the recent decline in Europe’s gold and dollar earnings. All the participating countries will receive not only fewei dollars than requested but even less than they themselves consider the irreducible minimum. The only possible solution is an equitable distribution of the reductions which such a position is bound to entail.” The report referred to the worsened conditions in Britain and said the United Kingdom would be less able than other countries to cover its deficit in gold and dollars. The report accompanied the Marshall Aid allocations and Mr MarioIm 'emphasised it was his and Baron Snoy’s opinion and not an official expression by the council. European Assembly

The Associated Press Paris correspondent states that the European

Assembly Committee wound up its work at Strasbourg today, preparatory to the final week of the debate by the Assembly on the committee recommendations. The Assembly tomorrow after an eight-day recess to begin its debate on the Economic Committee’s report. This contains controversial issues, such as recommendations for the convertibility of European currencies, a single European and colonies preferential tariff system and a call for the United States to lower its tariffs.