The Assembly,
Having taken note of the Second General Report of the High Authority and of the debate held thereon in the Second Joint Meeting of the two Assemblies ;
Welcoming the intention of the Common Assembly to submit to it a full Report of its activities ;
Reserving its right to examine and reply to the two Reports in greater detail during the second part of the Sixth Ordinary Session, Adopts the following texts for immediate communication to the Common Assembly :
Taking note with great satisfaction of the impending departure for the United Kingdom of the delegation of the High Authority ;
Expressing its appreciation of the constructive approach to the question shown by the High Authority ;
Recalling the words of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in August, 1952, when it was decided to accredit a delegation to the High Authority, with " the task of laying the foundations for an intimate and enduring association between the Community and the United Kingdom ",
Fervently hopes that the spirit of these words will inspire the course of the forthcoming decisions.
The Assembly, having noted:
1. Notes with satisfaction the international confidence extended to the common market, by the granting of credit facilities by the United States ;
2. Stresses the necessity of the further development of free and unrestricted trade in coal and steel, not only within the Goal and Steel Community, but between the Member States of the Coal and Steel Community and other countries.
With this object in view the High Authority should devote the closest attention to the continued elimination of any tendency to discriminatory practices in any form, and should continue its efforts to harmonise the tariff policies of the Member States at the lowest possible level.
In this connection, too, the Assembly calls attention to the provisions in Chapter I of the Second Part of the Transitional Convention of 18th April, 1951, and — while appreciating the initiative taken by the High Authority, particularly vis-à-vis the United Kingdom Government, and countries such as Austria and Switzerland — calls the attention of the High Authority and Member Governments of the Council of Europe to the importance of these provisions ;
3. Expresses its concern that the High Authority and the Member Governments of the Ruropean Coal and Steel Community should strictly abide by the provisions of Article 65 of the Coal and Steel Treaty, and urges the High Authority to define, as soon as possible, its policy with regard to cartels and monopolistic organizations within the Coihmunity ;
4. Trusts that the High Authority will take measures to prevent the development of transport rates calculated to prevent the free import of coal and steel into the Community ;
5. Takes note of thé work to which the High Authority has already set its hand, in liaison with the six Member Governments, in the matter of harmonisation and co-ordination of transport, an undertaking which complies exactly with the past recommendations of the Assembly in the field of transport ;
6. "Welcomes the initiative taken within the Community to intensify industrial and economic research, and trusts that the results obtained thereby will be made available to all Members of the Council of Europe on a basis of reciprocity.
The General Assembly would find it useful, for its appreciation of the development of the common market, in future reports to have more detailed information ·— as was the case in the First Annual Report — of the foreign trade in coal'and steel of the member States of the Community with third parties.Note
Chapter V of the Second General Report of the High Aiithority marks a considerable advance upon the previous Report, which showed that the High Authority had scarcely begun to take action in the social field.
As regards the re-employment of labour, the High Authority has already received three requests for action. One of these, involving the transfer and re-employment of 5,000 miners, has received a favourable reply from the High Authority, which has undertaken in accordance with the stipulations contained in the Treaty to meet half the costs.
As regards workers' housing, the High Authority has prepared a schedule of contributions for a preliminary building programme of 1,000 workers' dwellings. Furthermore, M. Monnet informed the Common Assembly in his speech of 12th May that the appropriations set aside for this project would shortly be raised from 1 to 25 million dollars — an increase which will enable 25,000 workers' dwellings to be built.
As for technical training and the health and safety of workers, exchanges and general progress will no longer be hampered by language barriers and lack of information. The research of the High Authority into wages and terms of employment, on the one hand, and into the manpower situation, on the other, is now sufficiently advanced to supply preliminary comparisons of the various data for the six member countries of the E.C.S.C. This comparative study of available figures may be regarded as the groundwork for a system of European social statistics.
"Whatever may be the interest with which the Consultative Assembly is following the developments mentioned in the previous paragraph, it attaches particular importance to the progress being made by the High Authority towards the free movement of labour. It is glad to note that the steps contemplated by the High Authority cover not only skilled labour but all workers in the two industries. This question is also closely linked with social security problems, which bulk large in the work of the Council of Europe in sooial matters. Any advance by the High Authority in this field may wel! facilitate the future work of the Council of Europe. Indeed, the Committee of Experts on Social Security appointed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided at its seventh session (23rd to 27th March, 1954) to await the decisions of the High Authority as regards social security for the families of migrant workers and a general multilateral convention on social security. That these two problems will be reconsidered in the light of the work and decisions of the High Authority provides evidence of the interdependence of an important range of problems being settled at Luxembourg and Strasbourg, and the progress of E.C.S.C, in this matter cannot but facilitate the task of the Council of Europe in continuing its efforts in the social field.
The Consultative Assembly was glad to have had the opportunity of holding an exchange of views with the High Authority, through its Committee on Social Questions, in the course of a meeting held at Luxembourg on 29th January, 1954. By agreeing to these discussions, the High Authority proved its willingness to bear in mind the interdependence of some of the social problems faced by the two Organizations in their respective spheres. The Consultative Assembly looks upon this as a first step towards the pursuit of a common policy, which cannot fail to ease the solution of such interdependent problems.