His Majesty the King of the Belgians, the President of the French Republic, President of the French Union, Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands and Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Parties to the Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence, signed at Brussels on March the 17th, 1948, hereinafter referred to as the Treaty, on the one hand,
and the President of the Federal Republic of Germany and the President of the Italian Republic on the other hand,
Inspired by a common will to strengthen peace and security;
Desirous to this end of promoting the unity and of encouraging the progressive integration of Europe;
Convinced that the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Italian Republic to the Treaty will represent a new and substantial advance towards these aims;
Having taken into consideration the decisions of the London Conference as set out in the Final Act of October the 3rd, 1954 and its Annexes
Have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:
Who, having exhibited their full powers found in good and due form
Have agreed as follows:
The Federal Republic of Germany and the Italian Republic hereby accede to the Treaty as modified and completed by the present Protocol.
The High Contracting Parties to the present Protocol consider the Protocol on Forces of Western European Union (hereinafter referred to as Protocol No. II) , the Protocol on the Control of Armaments and its Annexes (hereinafter referred to as Protocol No. III), and the Protocol on the Agency of Western European Union for the Control of Armaments (hereinafter referred to as Protocol No. IV) to be an integral part of the present Protocol.
The sub-paragraph of the Preamble to the Treaty: "to take such steps as may be held necessary in the event of renewal by Germany of a policy of aggression" shall be modified to read: "to promote the unity and to encourage the progressive integration of Europe".
The opening words of the 2nd paragraph of Article I shall read: "The co-operation provided for in the preceding paragraph, which will be effected through the Council referred to in Article VIII. . . . ".
The following new Article shall be inserted in the Treaty as Article IV: "In the execution of the Treaty the High Contracting Parties and any organs established by Them under the Treaty shall work in close co-operation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization".
Recognising the undesirability of duplicating the Military Staffs of NATO, the Council and its agency will rely on the appropriate Military Authorities of NATO for information and advice on military matters.
Articles IV, V, VI and VII of the Treaty will become respectively Article V, VI, VII and VIII.
Article VIII of the Treaty (formerly Article VII) shall be modified to read as follows:
"1. For the purposes of strengthening peace and security and of promoting unity and of encouraging the progressive integration of Europe and closer co-operation between Them and with other European organizations, the High Contracting Parties to the Brussels Treaty shall create a Council to consider matters concerning the execution of this Treaty and of its Protocols and their Annexes.
"2. This Council shall be known as the "Council of Western European Union"; it shall be so organized as to be able to exercise its functions continuously; it shall set up such subsidiary bodies as may be considered necessary: in particular it shall establish immediately an Agency for the Control of Armaments whose functions are defined in Protocol No. IV.
"3. At the request of any of the High Contracting Parties the Council shall be immediately convened in order to permit Them to consult with regard to any situation which may constitute a threat to peace, in whatever area this threat should arise, or a danger to economic stability.
"4. The Council shall decide by unaminous vote questions for which no other voting procedure has been or may be agreed. In the cases provided for in Protocols II, III and IV it will follow the various voting procedures, unanimity, two-thirds majority, simple majority, laid down therein. It will decide by simple majority questions submitted to it by the Agency for the Control of Armaments".
A new Article shall be inserted in the Treaty as Article IX: "The Council of Western European Union shall make an Annual Report on its activities and in particular concerning the control of armaments to an Assembly composed of representatives of the Brussels Treaty Powers to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe''.(2)
The Articles VIII, IX and X of the Treaty shall become respectively Articles X, XI and XII.
The present Protocol and the other Protocols listed in Article I above shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Belgian (government.
They shall enter into force when all instruments of ratification of the present Protocol have been deposited with the Belgian Government and the instrument of accession of the Federal Republic of Germany to the North Atlantic Treaty has been deposited with the Government of the United States of America.(3)
The Belgian Government shall inform the governments of the other High Contracting Parties and the Government of the United States of America of the deposit of each instrument of ratification.
IN WITNESS whereof the above-mentioned Plenipotentiaries have sinned the present Protocol and have affixed thereto their seals.
DONE at Paris this 23rd day of October 1954 in two texts, in the English and French languages, each text being equally authoritative in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Belgian Government and of which certified copies shall be transmitted by that Government to each of the other Signatories.
I have the honour to make the following communication to Your Excellency in order to place on record the undertaking of the Federal/ Italian Government regarding the application and interpretation of Article X (formerly Article VIII), of the Brussels Treaty.
The Federal/Italian Government undertake, before the Protocol modifying and completing the Brussels Treaty and the related Protocols and their Annexes are ratified by the High Contracting Parties, to declare their acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in accordance with Article X (formerly Article VIII) of the Treaty, having made known to the Parties the reservations accompanying their acceptance.
The Federal/Italian Government understand that, in the view of the other High Contracting Parties, paragraph 5 of Article X (formerly Article VIII) of the Treaty leaves the way open for concluding agreements on other means of settling disputes between Them, and that the undertaking in question shall in no way prejudice the possibility of opening discussions immediately with a view to establishing other methods of settling possible disputes in the application or interpretation of the Treaty.
Moreover, in the opinion of the Federal Government, the widening of the Brussels Treaty may give rise to a number of doubts and disputes as to the interpretation and application of the Treaty, the Protocols and their Annexes, which may not be of fundamental importance but mainly of a technical nature. The Federal Government consider that it is desirable to establish another, simpler procedure for the settlement of such matters.
The Federal Government therefore propose that the High Contracting Parties should discuss the problems set out above at once, with a view to reaching agreement on an appropriate procedure.
I should be grateful if Your Excellency would confirm that [the Government concerned] agree with this letter. The exchange of letters thus effected will be considered as an Annex to the Protocol modifying and completing the Brussels Treaty, within the meaning of Article IV, paragraph 1, of the said Protocol.
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of Your Excellency's communication of (date) and to state that [the Government concerned] have noted with satisfaction that the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany/the Italian Government undertake to declare their acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in accordance with Article X (formerly Article VIII) of the Brussels Treaty, having made known to the High Contracting Parties the reservations accompanying their acceptance.
I confirm that [the Government concerned] interpret paragraph 5 of Article X (formerly Article VIII) of the Treaty as stated in the third paragraph of Your Excellency's communication.
With regard to the fourth and fifth paragraphs of Your Excellency's communication, [the Government concerned] are in agreement with the proposal of the Federal Government that the High Contracting Parties should discuss at once the question of establishing an appropriate procedure for the settlement of the possible disputes to which the Federal Government draw attention.
[In the reply to both Governments]They also agree to consider this exchange of letters as an Annex to the Protocol modifying and completing: the Brussels Treaty within the meaning of Article IV, paragraph 1 of the said Protocol.
(1) London and Paris Agreements, September-October 1954 (Department of State publication 5659; 1954), pp. 37-42. Entered into force May 6, 1955. Back
(2) See Statute of the Council of Europe; infra, doc. 9. Back
(3) The signatories of the four Protocols to the Brussels Treaty deposited their instruments of ratification in the following order and on the dates indicated: Italy, Apr. 20, 1955; Belgium, Apr. 22, 1955; the Netherlands, May 1, 1955; Luxembourg, May 4, 1955; and France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom, May 5, 1955. The Federal Republic of Germany deposited its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty May 6, 1955. Back
(4) The texts printed below contain the substance of the exchange of letters between the Governments of Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany on the one hand and the Governments of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom on the other. Back
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Source: American Foreign Policy 1950-1955 Basic Documents Volume 1 Department of State Publication 6446 General Foreign Policy Series 117 Washington, DC : Government Printing Office, 1957 |