Recommendation 614
(1970)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 23 and 24 September 1970 (17th and 18th Sittings) (see Doc. 2822, report of the Political Affairs Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 24 September 1970 (18th Sitting).
The Assembly,
1. Recalling its
Recommendation 597, on East-West relations and the organisation of a European Security Conference, having noted the reply of the Committee of Ministers, and welcoming the fact that the Ministers broadly share the views expressed in this recommendation ;
2. Welcoming the intensification of the East-West dialogue, and the steps taken recently towards a detente and closer cooperation between Eastern and Western Europe ;
3. Affirming that security and peace can endure only if they are founded upon universal respect for the sovereign equality, political independence and territorial integrity of each State, and for the right of its peoples to shape their own destinies, free of the threat of external intervention, coercion or constraint ;
4. Considering that, in their search for East-West detente and co-operation, it is essential for the Western European countries to strengthen their economic integration and to begin at long last the construction of a political union in Western Europe, at the same time remaining conscious of the interdependence between Western Europe and the United States of America ;
5. Welcoming and supporting the constructive new policy of the Federal Republic of Germany towards Eastern Europe, which may represent an important contribution to security and co-operation in Europe ;
6. Expressing the hope that the signature of the Treaty between the USSR and the Federal Republic of Germany and, on this new basis, a constructive policy of the USSR might favour an improvement in relations between Eastern and Western Europe as a whole ;
7. Supporting the decision of the Federal Republic of Germany to make the ratification of the Treaty with the USSR conditional upon progress over Berlin, and expressing the hope that the four-power talks on Berlin will soon lead to positive results ;
8. Noting with satisfaction that, as foreshadowed by
Recommendation 597, there seems to be some agreement between the countries belonging to the Atlantic Alliance and the Warsaw Pact and the neutral and non-aligned States in Europe on the holding of one or several European security conferences, particularly on the question of the participants ;
9. Sharing the view that one of the most important issues to be discussed is the mutual and balanced reduction of the military potential in Europe, and not only the reduction of foreign troops stationed there ;
10. Considering that preparatory talks in relation to the conference might soon pass from bilateral soundings to multilateral discussions, and supporting the idea of a permanent body for East-West co-operation ;
11. Considering that the Council of Europe is not only an excellent forum for discussions and consultations between its member States, but that it could also be a valuable instrument of intergovernmental co-operation between Eastern and Western Europe,
12. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :
a keep the question of East-West relations, the preparation and organisation of one or several European security conferences and related matters on its agenda, both at Ministers' and at Deputies' level, and pursue its exchange of views with the Assembly on these questions ;
b study carefully the idea of a permanent body for East-West co-operation, and examine what contribution existing organisations and, in particular, the Council of Europe could make in this context.
