London and Paris Conferences

London and Paris Conferences

The London and Paris Conferences were two related conferences in London and Paris in late September and October 1954 to determine the status of West Germany. The nine participating powers were the 5 signatories of the Brussels Treaty (France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands), West Germany, Italy, Canada, and the United States.

Belgium was represented by Paul-Henri Spaak, Canada by Lester B. Pearson, France by Pierre Mendès-France, Germany by Konrad Adenauer, Italy by Gaetano Martino, Luxembourg by Joseph Bech, the Netherlands by Jan Willem Beyen, the United Kingdom by Anthony Eden, and the United States by John Foster Dulles.

Contents

Prelude

The meeting was called after the failure of the European Defense Community (EDC), which had proposed a Western European military force to defend the non-communist nations against Soviet aggression rather than admitting Germany into NATO. Previous agreements, including the General Treaty (German: Deutschlandvertrag), had established the EDC as a prerequisite for the end of Allied occupation and Germany's rearmament and its failure was a significant roadblock.

London

At the London Conference, often called the Nine-Power Conference (not to be confused with the Nine Power Treaty), it was agreed that the occupying powers would make every effort to end the occupation. Germany would also accede to the Washington Treaty (North Atlantic Treaty) and, along with Italy, the Brussels Treaty. The status of Saarland, which had been essentially annexed by France, was also discussed and it was proposed that it become an independent state, and a referendum was set up to determine the will of the people of Saarland (it was defeated and Saarland rejoined West Germany in 1956). The limits of German re-armament were also very important especially to France, which was still concerned with a powerful Germany. It was agreed that West Germany would be forbidden to build atomic or biological weapons.

Paris

The powers met again in Paris on October 21 to sign official agreements concerning the decisions reached in London, often called the "Paris Agreements" or the "Paris Accords" (not to be confused with the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War). "Protocol No. I Modifying and Completing the Brussels Treaty" formally added West Germany and Italy to the Brussels Treaty created the Western European Union (WEU), which, while not as international or powerful as the proposed EDC, nevertheless was sufficient for the Deutschlandvertrag to come into force and therefore to end the occupation of West Germany and admit it as a partner in the Cold War.

See also

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Paris Accords — The term Paris Accords may refer to: *The agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post war status of Germany *The Paris Peace Accords in 1973, ending US involvement in the Vietnam War …   Wikipedia

  • Common Security and Defence Policy — European Union This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the European Union …   Wikipedia

  • Bonn-Paris conventions — The Bonn Paris conventions were signed in 1952 and came into force after the 1955 ratification. The conventions put an end to the Allied occupation of West Germany.Joachim von Elbe [http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/ga4 elbe.htm U.S. Embassy Bonn… …   Wikipedia

  • Accords de Paris (1955) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Accords de Paris. Les accords de Paris désignent un traité international signé le 23 octobre 1954 et ratifié le 9 mai 1955 par tous les pays européens et américains pour valider l entrée de la République fédérale …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paris — /par is/; for 2 also Fr. /pann rddee /, n. 1. Matthew. See Matthew of Paris. 2. Ancient, Lutetia Parisiorum, Parisii /peuh riz ee uy /. a city in and the capital of France and capital of Ville de Paris Department, in the N part, on the Seine.… …   Universalium

  • HISTORICAL SURVEY: THE STATE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS (1880–2006) — Introduction It took the new Jewish nation about 70 years to emerge as the State of Israel. The immediate stimulus that initiated the modern return to Zion was the disappointment, in the last quarter of the 19th century, of the expectation that… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • PARIS — PARIS, capital of france . In 582, the date of the first documentary evidence of the presence of Jews in Paris, there was already a community owning at least a synagogue, situated in the neighborhood of the present church of St. Julien le Pauvre …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Paris (France) — Paris  Cet article concerne la capitale française. Pour les autres significations, voir Paris (homonymie). Paris …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paris intra-muros — Paris  Cet article concerne la capitale française. Pour les autres significations, voir Paris (homonymie). Paris …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paris 2 — Université Paris II Le bâtiment principal près de la place du Panthéon Université Panthéon Assas (Paris II) …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”