Editorial Note
Secretary of State Acheson, Secretary of the Treasury John W. Snyder, Secretary of Defense Robert A. Lovett, and Director for Mutual Security W. Averell Harriman, accompanied by a large delegation of advisers and experts, participated in the Ninth Session of the North Atlantic Council in Lisbon, February 20 to 25, 1952. During this session, the first to include representatives from Greece and Turkey, the North Atlantic Council adopted a plan of action prepared by the Temporary Council Committee to reach a specific defensive strength during 1952 and to increase defensive strength in later years, approved a comprehensive plan for the reorganization of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, reviewed the negotiations being carried on in Paris for the creation of a European Defense Community, agreed on principles governing the relationship between the proposed Community and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and adopted a report by the North Atlantic Community Committee particularly concerned with economic cooperation among the Western European countries.
Prior to the Lisbon session of the North Atlantic Council, Secretary of State Acheson was in London from February 12 to February 19 during which time he held preliminary conversations with Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Secretary Eden and tripartite conversations with Eden and Foreign Minister Schuman. These conversations were mostly concerned with problems arising out of the negotiations for a European Defense Community and those “contractual arrangements” being negotiated in Bonn for the creation of a new relationship [Page 293] between the Western powers and the Federal Republic of Germany. The conversations culminated in meetings of Secretary Acheson, Foreign Secretary Eden, and Foreign Minister Schuman with Federal Republic Chancellor Adenauer in London, February 18 and 19.
Concurrent with the Ninth Session of the North Atlantic Council in Lisbon, Secretary Acheson held meetings with Foreign Secretary Eden on such topics as Austria, the Far East; with Foreign Minister Schuman, and other French officials on aspects of the American financial aid to France; with Greek Foreign Minister Venizelos; and with Portuguese Head of State Salazar. On February 25 and 26, Secretary Acheson, Foreign Secretary Eden, and Foreign Minister Schuman held a series of meetings in Lisbon following the conclusion of the North Atlantic Council session and completed a series of preliminary agreements with the Federal Republic of Germany defining the relationship between the Federal Republic and the prospective European Defense Community.
For documentation on Secretary Acheson’s meetings in London, February 13 to 19; his meetings in Lisbon, February 20 to 26; and United States participation in the Ninth Session of the North Atlantic Council in Lisbon, February 20–25, see pages 1 ff.