COUNCIL OF EUROPE
Committee of Ministers The Chairman
Athens, 14th July 1950.
Sir,
I have the honour to transmit herewith, for presentation to the Representatives to the Consultative Assembly, the Report prepared by the Committee of Ministers in conformity with Article 19 of the Statute.
I am, Sir,
Your humble and obedient Servant,
N. PLASTIRAS,
Chairman of the Committee of Ministers
3. At its first Session the Assembly transmitted to the Committee of Ministers certain proposals for amending the Statute of the Council of Europe. These are to be found in Section B of document 87 of the collected documents of the Consultative Assembly, 1st Session Note.
4. These proposals were considered by the Committee of Ministers at their second Session held in Paris from the 3rd to the 5th November, 1949.
As stated in the letter addressed by M. Gustav RASMTJSSEN, as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, to the President of the Consultative Assembly on the 5th November 1949, the Committee of Ministers considered it preferable to avoid embarking on the lengthy process of amending the Statute when it had only just been ratified by the participating Governments and before experience had shown what, and how many, amendments to the Statute would ultimately be required. Indeed it appears that under the terms of Article 41 of the Statute certain Articles cannot be amended until the conclusion of the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly. The Committee was, however, anxious to meet the wishes of the Assembly as far as was practicable. The following decisions were accordingly taken.
5. Amendments to Articles 4 and 5.
The Committee of Ministers had before them recommendations by the Consultative Assembly for the amendment of these Articles, the effect of which would be to make the admission of new Members to the Council of Europe subject to the approval of the Consultative Assembly, such approval to be by a simple majority.
The Committee of Ministers decided to reserve its decision on this recommendation, but meanwhile to hear the views of the Standing Committee on any proposals on the admission of new Members, and of new Associate Members, and to take no final decision thereon until after it had heard the views of the Standing Committee, which should be communicated to the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers through the President of the Assembly.
6. Amendment to Article 23.
The Assembly had recommended that Article 23 should be amended with a view to removing the provision that items for inclusion in the Assembly's Agenda should be subject to the approval of the Committee of Ministers.
The Committee of Ministers reserved its decision on this recommendation, but decided not to exercise in practice the right of control over the Assembly's Agenda which derives from the strict application of Article 23 of the Statute, so long as the Assembly's debates were limited to such subjects as fall within the scope of the Council of Europe as defined in Article 1 of the Statute.
7. Amendments to Articles 25 (c) and 26.
The Assembly recommended that these Articles should be amended in order to abolish the system of Substitutes in the Consultative Assembly and double the number of Representatives.
The Committee of Ministers agreed with the Assembly in considering that the system of Substitutes had not been satisfactory. Since, however, the abolition of Substitutes would entail certain difficulties in regard to the representation of the smaller States, the Committee instructed the Secretary-General to undertake a fresh examination of this question and to communicate the result to the Standing Committee for their observation. The Committee of Ministers have not yet received a reply from the Standing Committee and have, therefore, postponed the examination of this problem until a later Session.
8. Amendments to Articles 36 and 37.
The Assembly recommended the amendment of these Articles to provide for the appointment two Deputy Secretaries-General, one for the Committee of Ministers and one fore the Consultative Assembly.
The Committee of Ministers decided, pending the amendment of Articles 36 and 37 of the Statute, to authorise the Consultative Assembly to appoint, on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers, a Chief of Administrative Services of the Assembly. This official should carry the rank of Deputy Secretary- General and act under the authority of the Secretary-General.
At their third session in Strasbourg on the 30 th March, 1950, the Committee of Ministers recommended the appointment to this post of Signor Filippo CARACCIOLO di CASTAGNETO.
9. The remaining proposals put forward by the Consultative Assembly for the amendment of the Statute were largely consequential on those set out above.
10. In his letter of 9th September 1949, to the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, the President of the Consultative Assembly announced the decision of the Assembly to allow the six Committees it had appointed to meet in the interval between Sessions, in order to examine the questions referred to them.
11. The Committee of Ministers in examining this decision were concerned with two main points :
Article 38 (d) of the Statute which requires that the Secretary-General shall refer to the Committee requests from the Assembly which involve expenditure exceeding the amount already allocated in the Budget for the Assembly and its activities;
the avoidance of duplication with the technical studies and research already being undertaken by various inter-governmental organisations such as 0. E. E. C, I. L. 0., and U. N. E. S. C. O.
12. The Committee of Ministers expressed the opinion that Committees of the Assembly should meet only in Strasbourg and that, with the exception of the Standing Committee, the Committee on General Affairs and the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges, they should meet between Sessions, not more than once, at a convenient date before the opening of the Assembly's Session. This would enable Committees to make a preliminary study of any proposals and material transmitted to the Assembly by the Committee of Ministers. Committees should not, however, undertake technical studies.
The Committee instructed the Secretary- General to inform the President of the Assembly of the foregoing, and to ask him to seek the agreement of the Standing Committee and of the Assembly to this arrangement. The Secretary- General was further instructed to inform the President of the Assembly that he had been authorised to call on official experts to assist him in the studies which he had been asked to make.
In reply the Chairman of the Standing Committee pointed out that the Committee of Ministers apparently had a conception of the ròle of Committees of the Assembly which differed considerably from that of the Assembly itself. The Assembly had never intended to set up technical organs which would duplicate the work of the inter-governmental organisations mentioned above. The function of the Committees of the Assembly was, in the Standing Committee's view, to examine on the political plane questions of a technical nature which had already been studied at the expert level. In these circumstances the Standing Committee could only insist on the maintenance of all the Assembly's Committees and on their right to meet as often as they considered necessary.
As a result of this exchange of views the Committee of Ministers, being desirous of meeting the wishes of the Assembly and of facilitating its work, withdrew its objection to meetings of any of the Assembly Committees between Sessions of the Assembly.
13. Certain of the Assembly's recommendations raised questions which owing to their technical nature, were not suited to detailed discussion by the Committees of the Assembly. The Committee of Ministers accordingly adopted in these cases a similar procedure to that which had proved successful in the Brussels Treaty Organisation of appointing working parties of governmental experts to examine these questions and report to the Committee. The subjects which have been dealt with in this way are the Assembly's proposals for a Human Rights Convention, the extension to Member States of the Council of Europe of the Multilateral Convention on Social Security, signed on 7th November 1949 by the Brussels Treaty Powers, and cultural co-operation between Member States. Thé questions of a European Passport and the establishment of a European Patents Office have been studied at the technical level by individual Member Governments but have not yet been referred to working parties of this kind. With regard to this second question it is proposed to convene a meeting of experts after the Second Session of the Assembly.
14. Finally, the Committee of Ministers, considering that it was desirable that the Council of Europe should benefit as far as possible from the technical work undertaken by 0. E. E. C, and having regard to the wishes expressed by the Assembly in this matter, decided during its third Session, held at Strasbourg on the 30th March:
to discuss with the Council of 0. E. E. C. arrangements whereby economic and financial proposals originating in the Consultative Assembly or its Committees and transmitted by the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to the Council of 0. E. E. C, might be examined by that organisation and form the subject of a report to the Committee of Ministers;
to set up, under the chairmanship of the Turkish Ambassador in Paris, a sub-committee of the Committee of Ministers to consider, in consultation with 0. E. E. C, the problem of the exchange of information between the two bodies.
A similar sub-committee was set up by the Council of 0. E. E. C.
15. The report drafted by the 0. E. E. C. sub-committee and approved on 2nd June by the Council of 0. E. E. C, and of which the Committee of Ministers took note the next day, will form the basis for future relations between the two organisations (see Appendix 1).
16. During the period between Sessions the Committee of Ministers has maintained touch with the Standing Committee.
17. Various subjects have been referred by the Committee of Ministers to the Standing Committee for their comments; for example, the admission as Associate Members of the German Federal Republic and the Saar and the question of Substitutes for Representatives in the Consultative Assembly (see Chapter 1, paragraphs 5 and 7).
18. In collaboration with the Standing Committee the Committee of Ministers took the necessary steps for the establishment of the Joint Committee which forms the subject of the following Chapter.
19. The experience gained in the first few months of the Council's existence showed that insufficient provision had been made for liaison between the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly. The practice of relying exclusively on written correspondence between the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers and the Chairman of the Standing Committee led to misunderstandings and did not provide sufficiently close contact between the two organs of the Council. This being so, it was felt on both sides that a more satisfactory system must be worked out.
20. Various proposals were put forward. In particular, the General Affairs Committee at their meeting of 20 th March adopted a resolution (for full text see Appendix 2) recommending the establishment of an " Executive Committee " to ensure liaison between the two organs of the Council.
21. The Committee of Ministers, for their part, were equally concerned to remedy this state of affairs. At their third Session, held in Strasbourg from the 30th March to the 1st April 1950, they adopted the following resolution :
Considering that any strengthening of the links between the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly would be of the greatest advantage, the Committee of Ministers declares that it is ready to examine, in conjunction with Representatives of the Consultative Assembly, the problem of the relations between these two organs with a view to determining how best they may co-operate in the interests of the Council of Europe.
Profiting from the presence in Strasbourg of the Standing Committee, the Committee of Ministers decides to nominate forthwith MM. SCHUMAN, SFORZA, LANGE and BEVIN, and to ask them to establish contact with the Standing Committee in order to give effect to the above proposal as soon as possible, in agreement with the Standing Committee, and to form, together with representatives of that Committee, a Committee which will report in due course.
" This Committee will take into consideration all proposals for the improvement of relations between the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly, including a proposal already submitted by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom and considered by the Committee " (see Appendix 3).
22. The Standing Committee which was meeting at the same time accepted the proposal of the Committee of Ministers as set out in the resolution and appointed MM. SPAAK, DROSSOS, JACINI and MOLLET and Sir David MAXWELL FYFE to meet the four representatives of the Committee of Ministers.
23. The members of this ad hoc Committee held its first meeting in Strasbourg on the 1st April 1950 for preliminary discussions. They met again in London on the 18th May 1950. At this meeting the ad hoc Committee examined Mr. BEVIN'S scheme and the various proposals of the General Affairs Committee which had been approved by the Standing Committee. Complete agreement was reached on the basis of the proposals put forward by the Representatives of the Assembly. The gist of this agreement is shown in the series of " Conclusions, " attached as an Appendix to the Report: it deals with the name of the joint body, its composition, its powers and functions and internal structure (see Appendix 4).
24. At their fourth Session held in Paris on the 3rd June 1950, the Committee of Ministers agreed to the proposals made by the ad hoc Joint Committee on the 18th May; agreed to confer provisionally on the ad hoc organisation the powers and functions which would be those of the Joint Committee when it was finally set up and instructed the Secretary-General to inform the Consultative Assembly accordingly.
25. During its meeting on 4th November 1949, the Committee of Ministers stated that it was in favour of the admission of the German Federal Republic and the Saar to the Council of Europe as Associate Members. At this same meeting, it passed the Resolutions quoted in the letter of 5th November 1949 from the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to the President of the Assembly (Document 116). In particular, the Committee requested the Standing Committee for an opinion on the subject of these admissions.
26. The Standing Committee's opinion was communicated to the Committee of Ministers in a letter from the President of the Assembly to the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of 10th November 1949 (Document 117).
27. During its third Session (30th March — 1st April 1950), the Committee of Ministers unanimously agreed to invite the Governments of the German Federal Republic and the Saar to become Associate Members of the Council of Europe, in accordance with Article 5 of the Statute. The letters of invitation under the date of 31st March 1950 were sent through the Allied High Commission in the case of the German Federal Republic and through the French Government in the case of the Saar. The texts of the letters are attached to this Report (see Appendices 5 and 6).
28. The Government of the Saar deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Statute with the Secretary-General on 13th May 1950.
29. The instrument of acceptance of the German Federal Republic was deposited with the Secretary General on 13th July 1950.
30. The question of Austrian membership was also discussed. It appeared to the Committee of Ministers that, on account of general political considerations, it would be premature to make any decision in this matter for the moment.
31. In the provisional Agenda for the Assembly's first Session which the Committee of Ministers transmitted to the President of the Assembly under cover of its letter of 10th August | 1949, it had submitted the following question to the Assembly for an opinion : " Rôle of the Council of Europe in the Economic Field taking acco'unt, in accordance with Articles 1 (c) and 23 (b) of the Statute, of existing international organisations.
32. At the conclusion of its Debates on this subject, the Assembly submitted various Recommendations to the Committee of Ministers, the texts of which are contained in Document 71.
33. During its meeting in November 1949, the Committee of Ministers adopted the attitude on these Recommendations which is described in the letter of 5th November 1949 from its Chairman to the President of the Assembly (Document 116).
34. In implementation of this Resolution, the Secretariat of the Council of Europe transmitted the Preamble and Proposals contained in Part 1 of these Recommendations to the Council of the 0. E. E- C., inviting the latter to examine them and to communicate its comments to the Committee of Ministers.
35. The reply of the 0. E. E. C. Council reached the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe on 21st February, 1950 (see Appendix 7).
36. This reply was examined by the Committee of Ministers which passed the following Resolution thereon at its third Session :
" The Committee of Ministers transmits to the Consultative Assembly the reply received from the 0. E. E. C, with the following comments :" The letter received from the 0. E. E. C. shows that the problems raised by the Assembly's Recommendations Nos. 2, 3 and 5 are already under examination and are in process of solution by the 0. E. E. C." As regards Recommendation No. 1, concerning the intensification of the spread of economic information to the peoples of Europe, the Committee of Ministers instructs the Secretary- General to establish contact with the 0. E. E. C. with a view to initiating the necessary publicity." As regards Recommendation No. 6, concerning the control of international Cartels, the Committee of Ministers intends to establish contact with the Preparatory Commission of the International Trade Organisation with a view to undertaking a study of this problem in its European context." With regard to Recommendation No. 4, concerning the calling of a European Economic Conference, the Committee of Ministers considers that the time has not yet come to convene such a Conference. "
37. Recommendation No. 1 of the Consultative Assembly consists of an invitation to the Governments to intensify the spread of economic information through existing channels an dat the same time to provide for the Council of Europe itself to take direct action by every available means to make the peoples of Europe aware of the gravity of the peril in which they are living, and of the advantages to themselves of uniting their resources in a common effort to regain solvency and reach a new level of prosperity.
38. In implementation of the decision of the Ministers on 1st April 1950, the Secretariat- General of the Council established contact with the 0. E. E. C.s Information Service. The respective Services of the two organisations, both of which are already working along the lines indicated in the Assembly Recommendation, agreed in principle to exchange any information which would help the public to realise the necessity for closer economic co-operation between the peoples of Europe.
39. They also agreed that such information should be communicated jointly to the Press wherever this seemed advisable, and to put their respective distribution lists at each other's disposal for the circulation of such information.
40. The problem will be examined in greater detail after some experience of such collaboration has been obtained. The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe will then be in a better position to submit a considered programme to the Committee of Ministers for the realisation of the Assembly's Recommendation.
41. As regards the Committee's Resolution with regard to Recommendation No. 6 concerning the control of international cartels, the Secretariat-General has undertaken a preliminary study in liaison with the Preparatory Commission of the International Trade Organisation and requested its assistance in drawing up a preliminary draft Convention within the European context.
42. Finally, with regard to the Recommendation on the creation of a European Patent Office (Document 110, ordinary session 1949), the draft prepared by the Assembly was carefully examined by the Governments of the Member States.
It had originally been intended to hold a meeting of experts in July to examine the notes presented by Governments and study the Consultative Assembly's draft. On the suggestion of certain Governments it has been decided to hold this meeting after the Session of the Assembly.
43. In transmitting to the Assembly the provisional Agenda for its First Session, as mentioned previously, the Committee of Ministers had included the following question for an opinion : " Methods by which the Council of Europe can develop cultural co-operation between its Members. "
44. During its meeting of 13th August 1949, the Committee of Ministers had further approved the inclusion of the following question in the Agenda of the Assembly's First Session : " Collaboration in scientific research and technical development between the constituent countries of the Council of Europe, and the maximum pooling of material resources and technical manpower for the purpose. "
45. At the conclusion of its debates on this question, the Assembly submitted to the Committee of Ministers the Recommendations contained in Document 101.
46. On the basis of these Recommendations the Committee of Ministers, during its meetings in November 1949, took the decisions recorded in paragraph 4 of the letter from its Chairman to the President of the Consultative Assembly of 5 th November 1949.
47. During its third Session the Committee of Ministers proceeded to examine the Report prepared by the Secretary-General in conformity with the above decisions, and finally adopted the following Resolutions :
" 1. That Member States be requested to support, as far as possible, the far-reaching measures at present being taken by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation to prepare an international agreement covering the terms of this Recommendation and, in particular, that they impress upon governmental delegations attending the fifth General Conference of UNESCO, to be held in Florence in May 1950, the importance which the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe attaches to a suitable agreement being adopted at this Conference.
" 2. That the Committee of Ministers welcomes the measures initiated by the 0. E. E. C. which, it considers, satisfy the practical aspects of the Assembly's Recommendation and requests that it be kept informed of ensuing developments with a view to informing the Second Session of the Consultative Assembly of the results achieved in this field.
" 3. That inasmuch as UNESCO is already furnishing the aid required by the terms of this Recommendation, clarification of the words " practical aid " be requested from the Second Session of the Consultative Assembly through its Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions.
" With regard to the Recommendations of the Consultative Assembly concerning :
48. A first meeting of representatives from the Governments of Member States was held on the 28th June 1950, in Strasbourg.
These representatives have prepared a Report which will be examined by the Committee of Ministers during its next Session. The Resolutions passed by the Committee on the subject of the conclusions of this Report will be communicated to the Assembly as soon as possible.
49. In its provisional Agenda for the Consultative Assembly last August, the Committee of Ministers had included the following question for an opinion : " R61e of the Council of Europe in the field of Social Security. "
50. During its meeting on 13th August 1949, the Committee of Ministers approved the Assembly's Proposal defining the extent o f the enquiry i t was asked t o undertake. As a result, the following phrase was added t o the Proposal : " including such Proposals as a European housing policy and the possibility of granting to individuals employed in countries other than their own the same rights to social benefits as the nationals of these countries ".
51. At the conclusion of the debate on these questions, the Assembly adopted three Recommendations to the Committee of Ministers, which are contained in Document 79.
52. During its meetings in November 1949, the Committee of Ministers passed a Resolution on these Recommendations which is recorded, in paragraph 5 of the letter of 5th November 1949, from its Chairman to the President of the Consultative Assembly (Document 116).
53. During its third Session the Committee of Ministers, at the request of the Belgian Government, studied the possibilities of extending to the Member States of the Council of Europe the Multilateral Convention on Social Security signed on 7th November 1949, in Paris by the Foreign Ministers of the Brussels Treaty Powers. It decided that, in view of the intricate problems contained in this Proposal, a Committee of Experts consisting of representatives from the thirteen Member States of the Council of Europe should be convened to study the question. A first meeting of these representatives took place in Strasbourg from June 15th to 17th, 1950.
They have prepared a Report which will be examined by the Committee of Ministers during its next Session. The Resolutions passed by the Committee on the subject of the conclusions of this Report will be communicated to the Assembly as soon as possible.
54. During its meeting on 13th August 1949, the Committee of Ministers approved the Consultative Assembly's Proposal to place the following question on the Agenda of its First Session : " Measures for the fulfilment of the declared aim of the Council of Europe in accordance with Article 1 of the Statute in regard to the maintenance and further realisation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. "
55. At the conclusion of its debates on this subject the Assembly submitted to the Committee of Ministers the Recommendation contained in Document 108.
56. During its meetings in November 1949, the Committee of Ministers decided to convene a meeting of legal experts to draw up a draft Convention which might serve as a basis for future discussions of the Committee, due regard being had to the progress already achieved in this matter by the competent organs of the United Nations.
57. These experts met in Strasbourg in February and March and, after examining the Assembly's draft, submitted a Report and draft Convention to the Committee of Ministers which the latter examined during its third Session.
58. The draft contained several alternatives on which the legal experts agreed that they were not competent to decide, since such a choice depended on considerations of a political character.
59. In these circumstances, the Committee of Ministers decided at its third Session to convene a meeting of senior officials who, on the instructions of their Governments, would have the task of preparing the ground for the Ministers' decision from the political point of view.
60. The Committee of Ministers decided, moreover, that in accordance with a request expressed by the Standing Committee it would establish contact with the Chairman of the Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions before taking a final decision.
61. The Chairman of the Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions thereupon informed the Committee of Ministers that he wished the Committee as a whole to be permitted to examine the conclusions reached by the senior officials at their meeting.
62. The Committee of Ministers agreed to accede to the request of the Chairman of this Committee, on the understanding that any discussions held by the members of the Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions on the basis of the senior officials' Report should not in any way be binding on the Governments.
63. The Conference of senior officials took place in Strasbourg from June 8th to 17th 1950. It submitted to the Committee of Ministers the single text of a draft Convention and a Report which were communicated, together with the experts' Report, to the Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions in accordance with the wishes expressed by its Chairman. The Committee has informed the Committee of Ministers of its opinion on the draft drawn up by the Conference of Senior Officials.
The Committee of Ministers will take a decision on this matter during its next Session and will not fail to transmit it to the Consultative Assembly as soon as possible.
64. During its Session on 13th August 1949, the Committee of Ministers approved the Assembly's Proposal to include the question of a European passport in the Agenda of its First Session.
65. At the conclusion of its debates on this question, the Assembly adopted the Recommendation contained in Document 112.
66. During its meetings in November .1949, the Committee of Ministers decided to refer the question of a European passport to the Governments for study.
The Committee of Ministers will not fail to inform the Assembly of the results of this examination as soon as all the relevant data have been collected.
67. The Committee of Ministers has entered into relations with international organisation other than the 0. E. E. C. In particular the Committee authorised the Secretariat-General to send observers to the UNESCO Conference held in Florence from 22nd May to 16th June, 1950, to the I. L. 0. Conference on Migration held in Geneva in April 1950, and to the Congress of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, which met in Rome in July 1950.
68. The Committee of Ministers made provision in the Budget for 1950 for the erection in Strasbourg of a building for the Council of Europe. At its third Session the' Committee of Ministers agreed to increase the financial provision under this Head so as to permit the installation of certain additional accommodation requested by the Bureau of the Assembly.
The erection of this building has been successfully completed, thanks to the spirit in which the builders have carried out their task and the assistance of the local authorities.
ORGANISATION FOR EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
COUNCIL
Paris, 30th May 1950.
The Council of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, having cinsidered the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (C (50) 94), of 1st April 1950, appointed, on 4th April 1950, a Committee of three Members, consisting of Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. This Committee was instructed to consult with the Sub-Committee setup under the above Resolution on the problems referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 thereof, and to submit a report on the subject to the Council of the Organisation.
On all points which the Committee considered to come within its terms of reference, the attached Report of the Committee contains proposals for the solution of the main problems raised by relations between the two organisations.
The Council is invited to take note of the proposals in this Report and, if they meet with its approval, to instruct the Executive Committee to put them into effect.
I
We consider that, in order to assure the desired uniformity and continuity, correspondence between the two organisations, whatever its origin or subject, should, as in the past, be dealt with by the two Secretaries-General.
II
We consider that the intervention of the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the Communication to the Organisation of economic and financial proposals originating in the Consultative Assembly or its Committees (point I of the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 1st April 1950, C (50) 94), is a satisfactory procedure. The proposals of the Council of Europe would be examined by the Council which would reach a decision on each of them. However, the proposed procedure should make it possible in most cases for the Organisation to comply with the requests made to it.
III
The two Secretaries-General should be responsible for the exchange of information between the two organisations (point II of the above Resolution). This question has three different aspects :
The procedure so far adopted, described, n C (49) 206 (Final), will continue to be employed for the despatch to the Council of Europe of restricted documents of the Organisation.
Without excluding the possibility of despatch in urgent cases in the future, the Organisation would send documents of this kind at regular intervals to the Council of Europe, classified under headings and accompanied by short notes which would make it possible to relate the various documents to the respective fields of activity to which they refer.
Un-restricted documents would, of course, continue to be exchanged between the two Organisations.
This question was raised in a letter from the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe dated 8th March 1950, informing the Secretary- General of the desire expressed by the Committee on Economic Affairs of the Consultative Assembly that it should be authorised to consult the national and international experts of the Organisation.
We consider that the Council might adopt the following principles in this matter :
The consultation would take place between the two Secretaries-General on the understanding that the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe could be accompanied by members of the Committee which had requested the consultation.
The subject of each consultation should be limited and clearly defined in advance.
The subject should be within the competence of the Organisation and should concern questions which had already been studied by the Organisation.
No statement on these consultations should be made to the press without the prior approval of the Organisation.
The following procedure might be adopted for the examination by the Organisation of a request for a consultación :
Any request for consultation submitted by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe to the Secretary-General of the Organisation would be submitted by the latter, with comments, to the Council.
The Council (or the Executive Committee if the Council decided to delegate its powers to that body) would have to decide on each occasion on the action to be taken on the request.
At the consultations, the Secretary-General would speak on behalf of the Organisation in accordance with the provisions of sub-paragraph 4 of the Annex to the Convention on European Economic Co-operation of 16th April 1948. The Secretary-General could be represented by a member of his staff.
As part of the normal relations between the two Secretaries-General and subject to the volume of work, the Secretariat of the Organisation would provide the Council of Europe with economic data and statistics of value to the latter.
IV
In connection with the suggestion made in the Report,by the Chairman of the Council to the Consultative Group of Ministers (CGM (50) 3) on 25th March 1950, that an office should be set up at Strasbourg to supply information on the activities of the Organisation, we have suggested to the Sub-Committee of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe that circulation of publications of the Organisation should be entrusted to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe during the plenary Sessions of the Assembly.
The members of the Consultative Assembly would thus easily be able to obtain publications of the Organisation. In addition, it should be possible to arrange for the regular distribution of press communiqués to them.
The Sub-Committee of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe approved all the above proposals. A single reservation was made by one member concerning the attendance of members of Committees of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe at consultations between the two Secretaries-General.
C. BAUER, A. CATTANI (Chairman), E. VON SYDOW
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY
Strasbourg, 23rd March, 1950.
The Committee on General Affairs proposes that the Assembly should make the following Recommendation to the Committee of Ministers :
" That without prejudice to any future development of the organs of the Council of Europe for the purpose of creating a genuine supra-national authority,
an Executive Committee of the Council of Europe shall be established, half the members of which shall be drawn from Representatives of the Committee of Ministers and half from Representatives of the Consultative Assembly.
As a Co-ordinating Body :
this Committee would be responsible for ensuring liaison between the two organs of the Council of Europe,
As a Planning Body :
its tasks would be in particular as follows :
As an Executive Body :
it would supervise the carrying out of Recommendations adopted by the organs of the Council of Europe. It might also be given powers to control the working of such European Public Services as may be placed under the aegis of the Council of Europe. "
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
Strasbourg, 30th March 1950.
There should be established a Joint Consultative Committee, consisting of 7 Representatives of the Committee of Ministers and 7 Representatives nominated by the Standing Committee of the Consultative Assembly, under the Chairmanship of the President of the Assembly, with the object of effecting liaison between the two organs of the Council of Europe.
The Committee will meet in Strasbourg whenever the Committee of Ministers, or their Representatives, or the President of the Assembly, consider a meeting is desirable in order to discuss an outstanding difficulty. It will take no decisions by way of vote, but will rather seek to establish better relations between the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly by means of periodical discussions of common problems.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
London, 18th May 1950.
Present:
1. for the Committee of Ministers :
MM. E. BEVINNote
H. LANGE
R. SCHUMAN
C. SFORZA
2. for the Standing Committee :
MM. P.-H. SFAAK, Chairman
G. DROSSOS
S. JACINI
Sir David MAXWELL FYFE
M. Guy MOLLET
In accordance with its terms of reference, the meeting examined the different proposals which had been submitted to it, referring to the creation of a joint organ composed of Representatives of the Committee of Ministers and of the Consultative Assembly.
The following conclusions were adopted at the meeting with a view to their being submitted to the Committee of Ministers and to the Consultative Assembly.
(a) Title. It was decided to adopt the title of " Joint committee ".
(b) Composition. The Joint Committee shall be composed in principle of 12 members, five of whom shall be Representatives of the Committee of Ministers, and seven of whom shall be Representatives of the Consultative Assembly, the latter number to include the President of the Assembly, who shall be a member ex officio.
The Committee of Ministers shall, at it discretion, be entitled to increase by one or two the number of its Representatives on the Joint Committee.
The Secretary-General shall be entitled to attend the meetings of the Joint Committee in an advisory capacity.
(c) Method of Choosing the Members of the Joint Committee,. The two organs of the Council of Europe shall be free to choose their own method of selecting their Representatives on the Joint Committee.
The object of the Joint Committee shall be :
to maintain good relations between the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly and to co-ordinate their activities by means of the periodical discussion of common problems;
to call the attention of the Committee of . Ministers and of the Consultative Assembly to those questions which appear to be of particular interest to the Council of Europe; and, after consideration of any reports received, to make proposals for the draft Agendas of the Sessions of the Committee of Ministers and of the Consultative Assembly, without prejudice however to their respective rights;
and finally to »examine and sponsor means of giving practical effect to the Recommendations adopted by the Committee of Ministers or the Consultative Assembly.
It is understood that the Proposals for inclusion in the draft Agenda which may be made by the Representatives of the Committee of Ministers, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 above of the terms of reference of the Joint Committee, shall not in any circumstances be regarded as binding on the Governments of which those Representatives are members.
(a) Chairmanship. The President of the Consultative Assembly shall be Chairman of the Joint Committee.
(b) Quorum. Three representatives of the Committee of Ministers and five Representatives of the Consultative Assembly shall form a quorum at meetings of the Joint Committee. No proceedings of the Committee shall be regarded as valid and binding unless such a quorum is present.
The Joint Committee shall not take decisions by means of a vote.
(c) Frequency of Meetings. The meetings of the Joint Committee shall be convened by the Chairman and shall take place as often as is necessary.
It was agreed that the existing " ad hoc " Committee will, until the next Session of the Assembly, assume the functions to be eventually exercised by the Joint Committee. Proceeding from that decision, the meeting considered certain questions on the draft Agenda drawn up by the Secretariat (Doc. CM/AS (50) OJ 1 prov.). The following conclusions were reached:
It was agreed that it would be premature to discuss this question which was accordingly referred back for examination at a future meeting.
The Representatives of the Standing Committee drew the attention of the Representatives of the Committee of Ministers to the importance attached by the Consultative Assembly to the Report to be rendered by the Committee of Ministers in accordance with the Statute. The Representatives of the Committee of Ministers, and in particular M. SCHUMAN in his capacity as acting Chairman of the Committee, undertook that the necessary steps would be taken to ensure that the Report referred to in Article 19 of the Statute would be prepared and approved in sufficient time to enable it to bo communicated to the Representatives before the forthcoming Session of the Assembly. This Report will include an explanation of the motives which have inspired the decisions taken by the Committee of Ministers with regard to the Recommendations of the Assembly, and an account of the practical effect given to the said Recommendations by Member Governments.
The Representatives of the Standing Committee commented on certain questions arising from a consideration of the provisional Agenda for the forthcoming Session of the Consultative Assembly. The Representatives of the Committee of Ministers indicated that their Committee would in all probability examine at its next meeting those questions to which, in its opinion, the Assembly should give particular consideration.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE The Secretary-General
31st March 1950.
Sir,
I am directed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to make the following communication to the German Federal Government.
Article 5 of the Statute of the Council of Europe provides that, in special circumstances, a European country, which is deemed to be willing and able to fulfil the provisions of Article 3, may be invited by the Committee of Ministers to become an Associate Member of the Council of Europe. Having in mind the desirability of associating Germany with those European countries which are determined to preserve their democratic way of life, the Committee of Ministers hereby extends a formal invitation to the German Federal Republic to become an Associate Member of the Council of Europe.
In conveying this invitation, the Committee of Ministers desires me to draw the attention of the German Federal Government to the fact that it would be necessary, in accordance with Article 5 of the Statute, for that Government to deposit with myself an instrument accepting the Statute. Such an instrument should state that the German Federal Republic is willing to accept the guiding principles and aims of the Council of Europe as set forth in the Preamble to and in Article 3 of the Statute; a copy of the Statute is transmitted herewith.
I am further to state that the number of Representatives to the Consultative Assembly to which Germany would be entitled would be 18 and the contribution to be paid by Germany would be 126,000,000 French francs for the present financial year.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient and humble Servant,
Signed : J.-C. PARIS
Secretary- General
His Excellency
M. Konrad ADENAUER
Chancellor
of the German Federal Republic
BONN
COUNCIL OF EUROPE The Secretary-General
31st March 1950.
Sir,
I am directed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to make the following communication to the Saar Government.
Article 5 of the Statute of the Council of Europe provides that, in special circumstances, a European country, which is deemed to be willing and able to fulfd the provisions of Article 3, may be invited by the Committee of Ministers to become an Associate Member of the Council of Europe. Having in mind the desirability of associating the Saar with those European countries which are determined to preserve their democratic way of life, the Committee of Ministers hereby extends a formal invitation to the Saar to become an Associate Member of the Council of Europe.
In conveying this invitation, the Committee of Ministers desires me to draw the attention of the Saar Government to the fact that it would be necessary, in accordance with Article 5 of the Statute, for that Government to deposit with myself an instrument accepting the Statute. Such an instrument should state that the Saar is willing to accept the guiding principles and aims of the Council of Europe as set forth in the Preamble to and in Article 3 of the Statute; a copy of the Statute is transmitted herewith.
I am further to state that the number of Representatives on the Consultative Assembly to which the Saar would be entitled would be 3 and the contribution to be paid by the Saar would be 2,750,000 French francs for the present financial year.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient and humble Servant,
Signed : J.-C. PARIS
Secretary- General
His Excellency
M. Johannes HOFFMANN
President
of the Government of the Saar
SARREBRUCK
ORGANISATION FOR EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
The Secretary-General
21st February 1950
Sir,
1. I have the honour to inform you that the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation has closely examined the proposals contained in the Recommendations on economic problems adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, which you communicated to me in accordance with the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers dated 2nd November 1949, and its Preamble.
2. As you know, the Organisation has just published its second report on the European Recovery Programme. This report describes the progress made during the last two years and attempts to assess prospects for the next two years and to lay down the line of conduct which Member countries must follow to restore their economic equilibrium. It is a joint declaration by the governments of the 18 Member countries, defining their problems and the manner in which they propose to solve them. Thus the report virtually contains the reply to most of the questions raised by the Recommendations of the Consultative Assembly.
3. It is for this reason that the Council has instructed me to transmit to you this report which is enclosed as Annex A to this letter. In the paragraphs dealing with each recommendation I have been careful, when the questions raised are dealt with in the report, to refer you to the relevant chapters.
4. The problems which led to the framing of the Preamble to the Recommendations of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe are also to be found in the general obligations described in Part I of the Convention for Economic Co-operation which set up the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and in the preambles to the principal Council decisions, in particular those of 2nd November 1949, concerning new measures of co-operation. I enclose copies of these two documents as Annexes B and C.
5. The introduction to the report and the general considerations which the latter contains show that Member countries are pursuing their recovery effort very much in the spirit of the original convention.
6. Recommendation 1 of the Consultative Assembly deals with the invitation to Governments to intensify the spread of economic information through existing channels and, at the same time, to provide for the Council of Europe itself to take direct action by every available means to make the peoples of Europe aware of the gravity of the peril in which they are living and of the advantages to themselves of uniting their resources in a common effort to regain solvency and reach a new level of prosperity.
7. With the same end in view, the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation set up from the outset a branch responsible for issuing press releases, from Paris, on the current work and achievements of the Organisation, and for maintaining contact with the information services of Member countries in order to coordinate their individual efforts to keep their public opinion as fully informed as possible of the work of the Organisation
8. The Organisation, convinced that the solution of economic problems is facilitated by an enlightenment of public opinion, welcomes the plan contained in the second part of the Recommendation of the Consultative Assembly.
9. Recommendation 2 of the Consultative Assembly concerns the taking of all practical steps to establish as quickly as possible a multilateral system of payments including the restoration of the inter-convertibility of European currencies, subject to the safeguards necessary to enable the movement of capital to be controlled during the transitional period.
10. The establishment of a multilateral payments scheme is one of the main tasks assigned to the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation. The idea is to be found in Article 4 of the Convention of 16th April, 1948. During the first two years of the Organisation's existence, payments were made under two payments and compensations agreements, the second of which, signed on 7th September 1949, makes provision for multilateral drawing rights up to a certain amount. Since then, in execution of a decision of 2nd November 1949, designed to enlarge the area of transferability of currencies between Member countries, the Organisation is studying the principles of a multilateral payments mechanism.
11. These principles are out in Section C of Chapter 23 of the Report.
12. Recommendation 3 of the Consultative Assembly concerns the creation of a permanent machinery for consultation on credit policy between central banks of issue and for the co-ordination of credit policy.
13. On 31st January 1950, the Organisation decided that the Governments of Member Countries should compare their financial, economic, social, tariff and investment policies with a view to harmonising such policies insofar as this may be necessary for the establishment of closer mutuaL economic and monetary relations. As this undertaking will require considerable time, the Organisation recommended that a start should be made as soon as possible and that the effort be continued simultaneously with the measures for the liberalisation of trade planned for 1950.
14. Moreover, in connection with the new payments agreement which it is proposed to put into force as soon as possible, the Organisation is considering the possibility of creating a European Payments Union (Chapter 23, para. 764 ff).
15. Recommendation 4 (a) of the Consultative Assembly concerns the follow-up and the extension of the work of the Organisation in liberalising intra-European trade and all studies now being made in regard to the economic relations of Europe with its associated countries and its overseas territories.
16. Section B of Chapter 23 of the Report retraces the measures adopted by the Organisation for the liberalisation of intra-European trade. The Council decision of 31st January 1950, inserted in this section, sets out the new objectives which Member countries have set themselves in this field.
17. In the case of the Overseas Territories, the Organisation is carrying out a comparative study of the plans of each country for their economic and social development and is endeavouring to ascertain the means for strengthening the economic ties between Member countries and their dependent territories taken as a whole.
18. Recommendation 4 (b) of the Consultative Assembly concerns preliminary action for the establishment of a European economic union which shall retain the preferential systems and economic ties now in existence between certain European nations and their associated countries and overseas territories, and consider their progressive extension to other member states of this Union.
19. Referring to the terms of paragraph 2 of the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Organisation has decided to ask for the comments of the European Customs Union Study Group on this point. The latter body was set up to examine the problems involved and the steps which would have to be taken on the formation of a Customs Union. Its composition is the same as that of the Organisation and the associated countries attend its meetings as observers.
20. As soon as they reach me, I will forward any comments which the Study Group might make on the proposal contained in Recommendation 4 (b) of the Consultative Assembly.
21. Recommendation 4 (c) of the Consultative Assembly concerns the study of the development of production within the territories of the Member countries so that their individual import requirements may be met as efficiently as possible from their combined resources.
22. This problem was thoroughly examined when the first two annual programmes submitted by the Organisation to the Economic Co-operation Administration were drawn up. The second part of the Report deals with the 1950-52 Programmes.
23. As part of its Plan of Action for 1949-50, the Organisation decided to examine to what extent the reduction by Member countries of their dollar imports would make it possible to strike a balance between these imports and available resources. With this end in view, studies have been undertaken on agricultural products, textiles, non-ferrous metals, oil, machinery and timber. Chapter 17 of the Report, which deals with the development of resources in non-dollar areas, gives details of the conclusions so far reached in these studies which are still in progress.
24. Paragraphs 537 to 570 of the same chapter deal with the overseas territories and summarise the considered views of the Organisation on the development of sources of supply in the overseas territories.
25. Recommendation 4 (d) of the Consultative Assembly concerns the study of appropriate action for the progressive abolition of the obstacles to the free movement of men and for promoting the widest possible employment of labour in the metropolitan and overseas territories of Member countries and their associates.
26. The problem of international migration is broached in a section of Chapter 3 paras. 122 ff. of the Report and in Chapter 22. The latter chapter, which is entirely devoted to this question, makes clear the advantages of creating channels of migration while stressing the difficulties involved. It shows that no easy solution can be found in Europe by the countries working alone.
27. This Recommendation concerns the study of conditions under which the investment in the territories of Member countries of American capital or other non-European capital could be encouraged.
28. The problem of international investments has so far only been the subject of a preliminary study in the Organisation, whose general policy concerning this problem is described in Chapter 21 of the Report.
29. As is stated in the last paragraph of this Chapter the importance of the problem appeared to be such that it was decided to undertake a more detailed study. A decision of the Organisation dated 10th January 1950 defines the scope of this study, which is to cover the present conditions and regulations for foreign investments in Member countries and their overseas territories, and methods for promoting international investments, particularly American, of benefit to Member countries and their overseas territories and likely to contribute to the attainment of the Organisation's objectives. A general report on this question will be drawn up in the near future.
30. Recommendation 4 (f) of the Consultative Assembly concerns the extension and development of a system of guaranteed markets.
31. In the course of their work, several of the specialised Committees of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation have been led to consider the part, which a system of guaranteed markets might play in the development of the production of Member countries and their Overseas Territories.
32. The studies alone on this subject have been carried furthest in the cases of agricultural products. The report of the Food and Agriculture Committee (Report on the European Recovery Programme, Volume III, Section 1, attached as Annex D) indicated, in paragraphs 40-48, that guaranteed prices and markets were one of the best ways of stimulating agricultural production. Paragraphs 44, 57 and 58 of a second report by the Food and Agriculture Committee (AG 49) 31 attached as Annex E also deal with this problem.
33. Recommendation 4 (g) of the Consultative Assembly concerns the calling of an Economic Conference on which both the Member countries themselves and their Overseas Associates and Territories would be represented in order to study the proposals contained in Recommendations 4 (a) to 4 (f).
34. The Organisation is itself a permanent conference and has not so far considered calling a meeting of the kind recommended by the Consultative Assembly.
35. Recommendation 5 of the Consultative Assembly concerns the calling of industrial conferences representing both employers', workers' and consumers' organisations as well as government services interested in the main manufacturing and agricultural industries in order to make concrete proposals to the Assembly for the organisation of these industries and the increase in their productivity in the common interests of Europe.
36. Chapter 18 of the Report shows that the Organisation attaches considerable importance to the problem of increasing productivity. The measures taken by the various Member countries in this field are described in this Chapter and it is to be observed that in many countries joint committees of workers and employers have been set up to examine how far it is possible to increase the productivity of the industries concerned. Where such committees de not exist, the Organisation advocates their establishment.
37. In the first Report published on 30 th December 1948, (Interim Report on the European Recovery Programme Volume I which I enclose, in Annex F), the Organisation stressed the importance of European co-operation not being confined to government level (paragraph 421 of the Interim Report). It is for this reason that the Organisation keeps official contact with the E. R. P. Advisory Trade Union Committee, the Council of European Industrial Federations and, in the agricultural field, with the International Federation of Agricultural Producers. It is through these contacts that the above bodies can be associated with the Organisation's work on any question of common interest and particularly that of productivity.
38. Recommendation 6 of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe concerns the drawing up of a draft European convention for the control of international cartels.
39. The problem of the control of international cartels has not yet been examined by the Organisation.
40. I would be most obliged if you would be kind enough to communicate to the Committee of Ministers these comments which the Council has instructed me to send you on the Recommendations of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant,
The Secretary-General,
Signed: MARJOLIN
The Secretary-General
Council of Europe