24. Editorial Note

A number of meetings within the U.S. Government and between U.S. officials and representatives of EURATOM and the International Atomic Energy Agency were held in Washington June 9–11 in an effort to reach agreement on the wording of letters to be exchanged in conjunction with the agreement on the cooperative program by the United States and EURATOM.

On the morning of June 9, Under Secretary of State Herter met at the Department of State with Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss, Atomic Energy Commissioner John Floberg, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Commission Sterling Cole, and other officers of the Department of State, and discussed various minor modifications in the draft letters interpreting the agreement, particularly with regard to verification and inspection. Following this meeting, Herter met with EURATOM representative Max Kohnstamm and gave him a copy of the revised text. Kohnstamm expressed reservations about some of the changes, but was assured by Herter that if EURATOM accepted the revisions, there would be such strong administration support for the program that it would move through Congress very quickly. Arrangements were made for Kohnstamm to inform EURATOM of the proposed changes immediately by sending a cable through Ambassador Butterworth at Luxembourg. (Memoranda of conversation by Farley, June 9; Department of State, Central Files, 840.1901/6–958)

On June 10, Kohnstamm met with Philip J. Farley, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Disarmament and Atomic Energy, and said that he had received word from the EURATOM commissioners that they were prepared to accept the revised text if they could be assured that it was acceptable to both the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of State. Kohnstamm also passed on to Farley several minor additional textual changes and procedural proposals made by the commissioners. Later that day, Farley brought these proposals to Strauss and members of the AEC staff. In accepting some of the proposals but rejecting others, Strauss said that he wanted to consult further with Cole, who had indicated that he wished a commitment that the EURATOM program would be put under IAEC safeguards, if the IAEC inspection system was found adequate and this was applied broadly throughout the world. (Memorandum of conversations by Farley, June 10; ibid., EUR/RPE Files: Lot 70 D 315, Power Program)

According to his memorandum for the file, June 10, Farley met with Cole and with John Hall of the Atomic Energy Commission and explained to Cole the results of the meetings held during the previous 2 days. (ibid., Central Files, 840.1901/6–1058) Herter met again with Kohnstamm on June 11, and with both men voicing their desire for a [Page 46] speedy conclusion of an agreement, worked out additional minor changes in the text. (Memorandum of conversation by Farley, June 11; ibid., Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199) Herter then made several telephone calls to Strauss, which are described in Herter’s memorandum for the record, June 11. According to the memorandum, Herter called Kohnstamm at 12:30 p.m. and informed him that Strauss had agreed and “we can move right ahead.” At 12:35, Herter telephoned Secretary Dulles to say that agreement had been reached on EURATOM and that “Mr. Cole and AEC are happy and everything is harmonious.” According to Herter, “the Secretary was delighted.” (Eisenhower Library, Herter Papers)

The text of the letters to be exchanged, as finally agreed upon, was sent to Butterworth in Luxco 224, June 11, as follows:

“I wish to confirm our understanding that the consultations and exchanges of visits agreed upon in the referenced section and the assurance provided for therein include within those terms permission by each Party for the other Party to verify, by mutually approved scientific methods, the effectiveness of the safeguards and control systems applied to nuclear materials received from the other Party or to fissionable materials derived from these nuclear materials. In our judgment, this understanding is implicit in the text of the Memorandum of Understanding.

“I wish further to confirm our understanding that with respect to Section II E, in the event of an international safeguards and control system by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United States and Euratom will consult regarding assumption by that Agency of the safeguard and control over the fissionable material utilized or produced in implementation of the program contemplated by the Memorandum of Understanding.” (Department of State, Central Files, 840.1901/6–1158)

On June 12, under cover of a memorandum from Dulles and Strauss, the following items were sent to President Eisenhower: (1) an outline of the cooperative nuclear power program between the United States and EURATOM, (2) a résumé of the financial implications of the joint program, (3) the text of the agreement that had been signed in Brussels by the EURATOM commissioners on May 29 and which was to be signed for the U.S. Government by the appropriate authorities in the Department of State and the Atomic Energy Commission, (4) a draft Presidential message to Congress to accompany the International Agreement, once it was signed, and (5) a Memorandum of Understanding setting forth the detailed undertakings of the two sides in the joint program. (ibid., 840.1901/6–1258)

The agreement between the United States and EURATOM was signed by Dulles and Strauss in Washington on June 18. On June 23, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of State announced [Page 47] that President Eisenhower had on that day transmitted to Congress and asked for approval of the agreement. The texts of the above five items, except for the résumé of the financial implications of the joint program, are printed in Department of State Bulletin, July 14, 1958, pages 71–80.