THE ATLANTIC ALLIANCE FROM 1949 TO 1965

The history of the Atlantic Alliance can reasonably be divided into two main periods. During the first phase - from 1949 to 1955 – the partners in the Alliance were setting up and perfecting a collective structure designed to meet the collective commitments to which they had subscribed under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty, commitments which called for immediate and continuous action. The organization of common defence was found to be a multifarious task, with political, economic and financial aspects as well as military. This period was marked by a widening of the circle of Atlantic allies: the twelve original signatories of 1949 were joined by three new members - Greece, Turkey and the Federal Republic of Germany. Not only was the territorial expanse enlarged by the accession of Greece and Turkey, but the adherence of West Germany solved the gravest political problem posed in the organization of Western defence.

During the second phase - from 1955 to the end of 1964 - the Soviet threat, formerly confined to Europe and essentially military in character, took on more varied aspects and was extended to every quarter of the globe. Attempts at political negotiation between the USSR and the West, practically non-existent after 1949, were renewed from time to time. The essentially political role which thus fell to the Alliance forced it to undergo a degree of adaptation. While continuing to perfect its defence arrangements (under the changing conditions imposed by considerable progress in new weapons such as nuclear arms and guided missiles) it had to confront the political thrusts of Soviet policy with the concerted and agreed attitudes of the member countries. In order to ensure the necessary unity of outlook and action, the Western Powers were led to practise a very much closer co-operation in foreign policy. This widening of the field of co-operation between the partners of the Alliance constitutes, along with the modernization of defence equipment, a vital aspect of NATO's work over the past few years.

PUTTING THE TREATY TO WORK

Far from leading to increased tension between the East and the West, the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949, was immediately followed by a slight easing of the situation. In May, 1949, the USSR raised the blockade of Berlin.

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On May 23, 1949, the Foreign Ministers of France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the USSR met in Paris and succeeded in achieving limited though positive results on practical problems concerning Germany and Berlin (communications and relationships between countries), as well as on the question of a treaty with Austria. Moreover, the cessation in October 1949 of Soviet assistance to the Communist insurrection in Greece, brought peace to that country. The reinforcement of Western solidarity effectively prevented, at least for the time being, further Soviet military aggression in Europe.

The Treaty having come into force on August 24, 1949, after all the ratifications had been deposited, the Governments of member countries were faced with two tasks: that of setting up the various bodies necessary for the implementation of the Treaty and working out a common defence policy.

At its first meeting in Washington on September 17 and 19, 1949, the North Atlantic Council began the establishment of the various NATO bodies.

In particular, it decided that the North Atlantic Council, the principal authority in the Alliance and composed of the Foreign Ministers of member countries, would meet in ordinary session annually and could, at any time, at the request of any of its members invoking Article 4 or Article 5 of the Treaty, convene in extraordinary session. Each year the Foreign Minister of a member country was to be President of the Council, the Presidency rotating annually according to the English alphabetical order.

In accordance with Article 9 of the Treaty, the Council created a Defence Committee composed of the Defence Ministers of member countries, charged with drawing up co-ordinated defence plans for the North Atlantic area. It was agreed that this Defence Committee would meet at least once a year.

The military structure of the Alliance was begun by setting up a number of permanent bodies, first and foremost the Military Committee. It consists of the Chiefs-of-Staff of the member countries and its function is to give the Council advice on general questions of a military nature and to provide guidance to its executive agency, the Standing Group. The latter consists of representatives of France, the United Kingdom and the United States, who are responsible for strategic guidance in areas in which NATO Forces operate. Five Regional Planning Groups were also set up to develop plans for the defence of each of the areas covered by the Treaty.

At the same session, the Council recognized that questions of military production and supply and the economic and financial repercussions of the defence effort would have

to be studied in detail. At a second session, held in Washington on November 18, 1949, the Council decided to set up two further bodies; a Defence Financial and Economic Committee and a Military Production and Supply Board.

The Defence Financial and Economic Committee, composed of the Finance Ministers of the member countries, was to develop, in co-operation with the Military Committee and the Standing Group, overall financial and economic guides to the defence programmes and to fix the limits of these programmes and of military production in the light of the available economic and financial resources. It was also to appraise the financial and economic impact on member countries of major individual defence projects formulated by the Military Production and Supply Board or the Military Committee, to recommend financial arrangements for executing military defence plans, and particularly to make recommendations on the interchange among Treaty countries of military equipment. Finally, it was to study ways of meeting the foreign exchange costs of imports of materials and equipment from non-member countries required under the defence programmes.

The Military Production and Supply Board was to report to the Defence Committee. Its function was to promote co-ordinated production, standardization and technical research in the field of armaments.

THE COUNCIL DEPUTIES

The control and supervision of the civilian and military agencies of the Alliance could no longer be effectively undertaken by the Council in the course of its infrequent meetings. At its meeting of May 15 to 18, 1950, the Council therefore decided to create a civilian body responsible for regular political exchanges between member governments, for the execution of their directives and for the co-ordination of all the activities of the Organization: these tasks were entrusted to the Council Deputies. This body, on which each government was represented by a Deputy to its Foreign Minister, was to meet in continuous session in London.

The Council Deputies had not only to co-ordinate the work of NATO agencies, but also to study the relationship between the various defence plans, to suggest to governments the measures needed to co-ordinate these plans, to hold political discussions, to examine what action could be taken under Article 2 of the Treaty and to encourage the efforts made to bring the Alliance to the attention of the public in member countries. Having thus formed a framework which enabled the Council to control both the civil and military activities of the Organization, the Foreign Ministers also specified that the problem of adequate military forces and the necessary financial costs should be examined as one, rather than as separate problems. They noted that the combined resources of the members of the Alliance were sufficient to ensure the progressive and speedy development of adequate military defence without impairing the social and economic progress of these countries. And they urged the member governments to

concentrate on the creation of balanced collective forces in the progressive build-up of the defence of the North Atlantic area.

Soon after this Council session in London, there occurred an event which was to have a profound influence on the evolution of NATO: the Communist attack upon Southern Korea, which shocked the free world into a sharpened awareness of the threat confronting it. The Security Council denounced North Korea as the aggressor and decided on economic and military sanctions. All member countries of the United Nations Organization were requested to go to the rescue of the South Korean Republic. The solidarity of the free world shown in the Far East on this occasion could be shown elsewhere in the event of further aggression. When the North Atlantic Council met again on September 15, 1950, its discussions concentrated on one problem: how to defend the NATO area against an aggression similar to that in Korea. It was agreed unanimously that a forward strategy' must be adopted in Europe; that is to say, that any aggression must be resisted as far to the East as possible in order to ensure the defence of all the European countries of the Alliance. But to carry out this strategy, far greater resources were required than those available to NATO at that time (approximately fourteen divisions on the continent of Europe, as against some 210 Soviet divisions). The military strength of the Alliance would therefore have to be built up and the existing defence plans revised as a matter of urgency. It was also necessary to create an integrated force under a centralized command, adequate to deter aggression and to ensure the defence of Western Europe. The Council therefore requested the Defence Committee to recommend measures necessary to bring this force, which was to be placed under a supreme commander to be appointed by NATO, into being at the earliest possible time. The Standing Group was to assume the strategic direction.

The Council, having adjourned this session until September 26, 1950, to enable Ministers to consult their governments, decided, on reconvening, to make a detailed study of the problem of the possibility of Germany contributing to the defence of Western Europe. The 'forward strategy' adopted by NATO necessitated the defence of Europe on German soil, and this would be impossible without the military and political participation of the Federal Republic of Germany. However, such participation presented difficulties of principle for certain member countries, and for France in particular, and it was only towards the end of 1950 that any progress was made. The Council, meeting again on December 18, 1950, in Brussels, recognized that German participation would strengthen the defence of Europe without altering in any way the purely defensive character of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and took the first steps to ensure this participation. In particular, it invited the govern ments of the three occupying powers, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, to explore, in co-operation with the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, ways of giving effect to the principle of German participation in common

defence.

At Brussels, the Council also took important decisions on military matters. First of all, it decided that an integrated force should be constituted under the supreme command of an American officer and requested President Truman to designate General Eisenhower to serve as Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The President agreed, and the Council then made the appointment. It was decided that, acting from headquarters to be established in Europe early in 1951, he would have the authority to train the national units assigned to his command and to organize them into an effective integrated force. The new Supreme Commander was to be supported by an international staff drawn from the nations contributing to the force.

At this same session, the Council approved a Defence Committee recommendation to establish a Defence Production Board with wider powers than those of the Military Production and Supply Board which it replaced. This new Board was given the task of increasing production and facilitating the joint use of the industrial installations of the member countries.

The Council and the Defence Committee, at a joint meeting in Brussels, also agreed to appoint, as soon as possible, a single Supreme Commander for the North Atlantic Ocean. It was decided that he would be American and that his deputy would be British.

In May, 1951, the Council Deputies in London announced important measures taken to develop the structure of NATO. In the first place, the North Atlantic Council became the sole Ministerial body of NATO, the Defence Committee and the Defence Financial and Economic Board having been abolished. A Financial and Economic Board was set up in Paris, alongside the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) which was to provide it with assistance and information. The task of this Finance and Economic Board was to give opinions on all the economic and financial aspects of the defence programme and to give advice on these same questions to the other NATO agencies under the control of the Council Deputies. It could therefore approach not only the Council itself, but, in certain specific cases, the member governments direct.

This re-organization resulted in a considerable change in the duties of the Council. Governments could be represented by their Foreign Ministers, or their Defence Ministers, or both, or by other ministers concerned and in particular their Finance Ministers or Ministers for Economic Affairs. Heads of Government could also attend meetings of the Council. The status of the Deputies was therefore reinforced: instead of being the Deputies of the Foreign Ministers only, they now represented all Ministers in their government concerned with NATO matters. The Council Deputies thus became the permanent working organization of the North Atlantic Council. An International Staff, paid from a budget to which all member states contributed, was set up under the direction of the Deputies' Chairman, Mr. Charles M. Spofford (USA). During the year 1951, much work was done by the Council Deputies and their subsidiary agencies. For instance, on June 19, 1951, an "Agreement between the Parties