EUROPEAN RECOVERY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22589, 18 March 1948, Page 5

EUROPEAN RECOVERY

PARIS MEETING ENDS EXPERTS TAKE OVER LONDON, March 16. The 16-nation conference on European recovery in Paris ended after directing its experts to draw up statutes of the permanent international organisation and articles of a treaty to bind it. The conference voted unanimously for the representatives of the British, American and French zones of Germany to be independent members of the committee for reconstruction. The occupation authorities, with the assistance of “competent officials,” presumably German,, will represent the zones. Mr Ernest Bevin, in his closing speech, said the fate of Europe and the world would be decided by the Intensity of their work i n the.,-next few months. “The war against poverty and want will be won,” he said. “We must be ready to go into immediate action as soon as the European reconstruction programme is decided:” Report For U.S. Government The Associated Press correspondent says that experts will continue their work in closed meetings and only periodically release their decisions. A report on the progress thus far will be submitted to the United States Government fop consideration in connection with the Marshall aid programme. The conference took no action on a Portuguese proposal to include Spain. Portugal’s Foreign Minister Senor D. Mata, had urged the conference to consider the admission of Spain to the work of European construction “at an opportune moment.” He added that Spain had great agricultural resources and had made many contributions to European culture. A permanent “committee of officials” took over virtually all the practical work of the conference following the session yesterday and will continue the session today. Four Point Programme

The committee is expected to report favourably to the full session on four points for “organised recovery:” 1. A future multilateral treaty on mutual economic aid. _ 2 A full-fledged international organisation, with regular statutes. 3. Western Germany to resume her place in European economy. 4 A bill of particulars on what American goods Europe needs. The committee is expected to ask the full session to agree to the second of the two points on the spot and the commission working body to draft the first two. The working body would then arrange to call another full conference when their treaties and statutes are ready. • . . „. „ , , Optimism is the main feeling reflected in the majority of the French newspapers on the conference, but the Communist and “fellow traveller” organs expressed wrath. “Each step and each decision of the Western nations makes the reconstruction of world unity more difficult,” said the Community Party organ Humanite. The Conservative, Le Figaro, said: "When Russia has no more hope of dividing us she will humanise herself and settle down.”