Special Report of the O.E.E.C. with regard to the Strasbourg Plan

Recommendation 61 (1954)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

This Recommendation was adopted by the Assembly at its 11th Sitting on 29th May, 1954 (seeDoc. 259, Report of the Committee on Economic Questions).

The Assembly,

Having, on 25th September, 1952, adopted its Recommendation 26, known as the Strasbourg Plan ;

Having examined the comments of O. E. E. C. on this Plan ;

Having taken note of the Report of the Committee on Economic Questions appended hereto ;

Inasmuch as the Committee of Ministers, in transmitting Recommendation 26 to the O. E. E. C. forstudy, had decided to reserve any decision on the matter and to maintain the question on its Agenda ;

Considering that the right of initiative, in economic questions, of the Council of Europe, andparticularly, therefore, of the Committee of Ministers, is clearly laid down in the programme of workwhich has recently been submitted to the Assembly ;

Considering, as the Strasbourg Plan emphasises, that the economic expansion of dependent territorieshaving constitutional links with the Member States of the Council of Europe should be directedprimarily towards raising the standard of living of their populations through the balanceddevelopment of their resources ;

Considering that close collaboration between member countries, on the one hand, and theGovernments and peoples of the overseas territories in question, on the other, is essential for thepreparation of a balanced long-term programme of development inspired by the Strasbourg Plan,

Recommends :

a that the Committee of Ministers adopt the principle that the policy of European integrationentails, as a corollary, co-operation in the interests of their common prosperity, betweenmetropolitan Powers, the overseas countries which have constitutional links with them and the other member countries of the Europe ;

b that the Committee of Ministers invite the Powers with overseas responsibilities to examinetogether, on the basis of the Strasbourg Plan, the comments of O. E. E. C. on that plan and theattached Report, the fields in which they would be ready to accept the participation of otherEuropean countries,

c that, under the joint auspices of the Council of Europe and the O. E. E. C., a Conference becalled between, on the one hand, the Member States, and, on the other, the overseas territoriesinvolved, for a discussion of the problems arising from the implementation of the proposalscontained in the Strasbourg Plan.