Text Of British, French invitation

Northern Advocate, 5 July 1947, Page 7

Text Of British, French invitation

AID FOR EUROPE

(Received 1.30 p.m.) LONDON, July 4. THE Foreign Office issued the text of the Anglo-French invitation sent yesterday to 22 European nations to participate in implementing the Marshall proposals. ... . The invitation said Britain and France and certain other nations should form a “committee of cooperation” which would coordinate the work of four special committees dealing with food and agriculture, fuel and power, iron and steel, and transport.

The committees would draw up as quickly as possible a programme covering the resources and requirements of Europe. The committees would begin work on July 15 and the committee of cooperation's report should be drawn up in time to be presented to the United States at the latest by September 1. CONTACT WITH U.S. The committees would maintain contact with the United Nations and specialised United Nations agencies. The invitation staled that Britain and France considered the first step should be for Europe to help herself by developing basic resources. United States support was essential for accomplishing this, and the United States could contribute resources lacking until Europe achieved increased production. The special committee’s report should be based on inofrmation supplied of their own free will by countries desiring to participate. The report should show what increase in production could be achieved on the one hand by individual countries and on the other by exchange resources between countries. The report should also set out the needs to be covered by aid from outside Europe, including capital foods and essential consumption goods. POLISH INTEREST The committee should seek the friendly aid of the United States in drafting the report. The invitation suggests that each special committee should include representatives of the countries most directly concerned with the committee’s function. Reuters Paris correspondent says the French Foreign Office believes it will be able to judge tomorrow which nations are accepting the invitation. In Prague today the Polish Prime Minister (M. Josef Cyrankiewicz) said Poland still maintains a positive interest in Mr Marshall’s plan, but a reply to the invitation could not be drafted until he and eight other ministers who were now in Prague returned to Warsaw. He added that the Allies must remain united when faced with economic disasters. “Any other solution wculd be very dangerous for future peace,” he said HUNGARIAN COMMENT

He added that Turkey felt M. Molotov was “playing for time.” Greece and Holland are to accept the Anglo-French invitation to a conference on the Marshall plan. This was stated in Athens and The Hague today. Government sources in Copenhagen said Denmark would accept the invitation “with pleasure.” , WHAT IT WILL COST

A Foreign Affairs Sub-committee of the United States House of Representatives, in a formal report today, estimated that Europe, exclusive of Russia, would require about 10.000,000,000 dollars (£2,500,000,000) from 1947 to 1949, inclusive, to meet its needs. The report urged that the United States insist that current reparations by Germany and Japan be terminated as a first step in the evolution of the new policy. It also recommended a reduction of the earlier programme of reparations “aimed at weakening or destroying Germany and Japan” and a more self-sufficient level of industry for those two countries.

In Budapest the deputy Prime Minister (Dr Arpad Szakasits), who is the Social Democrat leader, said: “The Social Democrat Party must express satisfaction, especially after Mr Bevin’s and M. Bidault’s statements that our initiative for economic cooperation between South-east European countries was wise and necessary. “It is certain Europe could build more quickly with the help of America, but our economic existence cannot be’ bound up with political conditions.” A Turkish Foreign Office spokesman said in Instanbul that Turkey was ready to go to any limit to support Mr Marshall's plan.

Italy, Czechoslovakia and Portugal have officially accepted the invitation to the Paris conference. . \ The Eire Finance Minister (Mr Frank Aitken) announced that Eire, although it had not yet received an invitation, would accept when. the documents arrived.