The London and Paris Conferences were two related conferences held in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
during September–October 1954 to determine the status of
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
. The talks concluded with the signing of the Paris Agreements (Paris Pacts, or Paris Accords
), which granted West Germany some sovereignty, ended the
occupation, and allowed its admittance to
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
.
Furthermore, both West Germany and Italy joined the
Brussels Treaty
The Treaty of Brussels, also referred to as the Brussels Pact, was the founding treaty of the Western Union (WU) between 1948 and 1954, when it was amended as the Modified Brussels Treaty (MTB) and served as the founding treaty of the Western Eu ...
on 23 October 1954.
The Agreements
went into force on 5 May 1955.
The participating powers included
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, West Germany,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, and remaining NATO members.
Prelude
Since the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
had been occupied by
Allied forces and lacked its own means of defense. On 23 July 1952, the
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxemb ...
came into existence, bonding the member states economically. By 1951, fear of possible
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
aggression in Europe led to preparation of an ill-fated
European Defense Community
The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community, also known as the Treaty of Paris, is an unratified treaty signed on 27 May 1952 by the six 'inner' countries of European integration: the Benelux countries, France, Italy, and West Germa ...
(EDC). EDC was a proposed joint Western European military force, at the time favored over admitting Germany to NATO. The
General Treaty (german: Deutschlandvertrag) of 1952 formally named the EDC as a prerequisite of the end of Allied occupation of Germany. EDC was, however, rejected by the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kn ...
on August 30, 1954, and a new solution became necessary.
[
]
London
At the London Conference, often called the Nine-Power Conference (not to be confused with the Nine Power Treaty
The Nine-Power Treaty (Japanese: or Nine-Power Agreement () was a 1922 treaty affirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of China as per the Open Door Policy. The Nine-Power Treaty was signed on 6 February 1922 by all of ...
), it was agreed that the occupying powers would make every effort to end the occupation. The limits of German re-armament were also very important especially to France, which was still concerned with a powerful Germany.
Belgium was represented by Paul-Henri Spaak
Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the ...
, Canada by Lester B. Pearson, France by Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, Germany by Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...
, Italy by Gaetano Martino, Luxembourg by Joseph Bech, the Netherlands by Jan Willem Beyen, the United Kingdom by Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid promo ...
, and the United States by John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...
.
Paris
The powers met again in Paris on October 20–23, in an intergovernmental conference followed by a NATO Council meeting, to put the decisions reached in London into formal declarations and protocols to existing treaties.
Protocol No. I Modifying and Completing the Brussels Treaty
formally added West Germany and Italy to the Brussels Treaty, creating the Western European Union
The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
(WEU), which, while not as broad or powerful as the previously 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 an ally in the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
.
Altogether there were as many as twelve international agreements signed in Paris.[ The ]Bonn–Paris conventions
The Bonn–Paris conventions were signed in May 1952 and came into force after the 1955 ratification. The conventions put an end to the Allied occupation of West Germany.Joachim von ElbU.S. Embassy Bonn HistoryU.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germa ...
ended the occupation of West Germany and West Germany obtained "the full authority of a sovereign state" on 5 May 1955 (although "full sovereignty" was not obtained until the Two Plus Four Agreement in 1990). The treaty allowed Allied troops to remain in the country.
An agreement expanded the Brussels Treaty
The Treaty of Brussels, also referred to as the Brussels Pact, was the founding treaty of the Western Union (WU) between 1948 and 1954, when it was amended as the Modified Brussels Treaty (MTB) and served as the founding treaty of the Western Eu ...
of 1948 to include West Germany and Italy, creating the Western European Union
The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
. This agreement allowed West Germany to start a limited rearmament program though it banned development of certain weapons, such as large warships. It was signed by the Brussels Treaty countries (Belgium, France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) and by West Germany and Italy.
Another accord accepted West Germany into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(NATO).[
]
Saar status
The negotiations on Saar
Saar or SAAR has several meanings:
People Given name
* Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player
* Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist
* Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor
Surname
* Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...
status, only between France and West Germany, were held on the night before the conference, on 19 October.[ The territory had been essentially annexed by France after the war as a "protectorate" in an economic, customers and monetary union with France and with a government subordinate to a High Commissioner appointed by the French government. West Germany was keen to prevent further integration of the Saar with France and reincorporate the region into West Germany. France and West Germany negotiated an agreement under which the Saar would become a "European territory" and remain economically tied to France, but required a referendum of Saar residents on the new proposal. The 1955 Saar Statute referendum took place on October 23, 1955 and residents rejected the Paris Agreement proposal by 2-1. This was taken as a sign that residents preferred reunion with Germany. On 27 October 1956 the ]Saar Treaty
The Saar Treaty, or Treaty of Luxembourg ( German: ''Vertrag von Luxemburg'', French: ''accords de Luxembourg'') is an agreement between West Germany and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily lo ...
officially made Saarland a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
See also
References
External links
Final Act of the London Conference
Full text.
Declaration Inviting Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany to Accede to the Brussels Treaty, October 23, 1954
Full text.
Protocol No. I (and Annex) Modifying and Completing the Brussels Treaty, October 23, 1954
Full text.
Protocol No. II on Forces of Western European Union, October 23, 1954
Full text.
Protocol No. III (and Annexes) on the Control of Armaments, October 23, 1954
Full text.
Protocol No. IV on the Agency of Western European Union for the Control of Armaments, October 23, 1954
Full text.
*
1. Protocol 1. on the Termination of the Occupation Regime in the Federal Republic of Germany
2. Resume of the Five Schedules Attached to the Protocol on the Termination of the Occupation Regime
Declaration of the Federal Republic on Aid to Berlin
Convention on the presence of Foreign Forces in the Federal Republic of Germany
5. Three-Power Declaration on Berlin
*
*
1. Declaration inviting Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany to accede to the Brussels Treaty
*
2. Protocol modifying and completing the Brussels Treaty
**
Protocol No. II on Forces of Western European Union
**
Protocol No. III on the Control of Armaments
**
Protocol No. IV on the Agency of Western European Union for the Control of Armaments
*
3. Letters with reference to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice from, respectively, the Governments of the Federal Republic and of Italy to the other Governments signatory of the Protocol Modifying and Completing the Brussels Treaty
**
Reply to the Letters from the Governments of the Federal Republic and of Italy to the Other Governments Signatory of the Protocol Modifying and Completing the Brussels Treaty
*
4. Resolution on Production and Standardization of Armaments (Adopted by the Nine-Power Conference on 21sl October, 1954)
*
1 Resolution to Implement Section IV of the Final Act of the London Conference
2. Resolution of Association
Declaration by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
Declaration by the Governments of United States of America, United Kingdom and France
3. Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Federal Republic of Germany
4 Resolution on Hesulis of the Four and Nine Power Meetings (Adopted by the North Atlantic Council on 22nd October 1954)
Final Act of the London Conference (October 3rd)
***Federal Chancellor's List — Declaration by the Powers
***British Statement
***Canadian Affirmation
***German Membership of NATO — Powers' Recommendation
***Principles of UN Charter — German Acceptance
***Declaration by the German Federal Republic
***Declaration by the Governments of U.S.A., U.K. and France
***European Unity — Close Association of Britain
***Annex 1. ''Draft Declaration and Draft Protocol Inviting Italy and the German Federal Republic to Accede to the Brussels Treaty''
{{EU treaties and declarations
September 1954 events in Europe
October 1954 events in Europe
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History of the European Union
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History of Paris
Treaties of the French Fourth Republic
1954 in London
1954 in Europe
Diplomatic conferences in France
Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom
20th century in Paris
20th-century diplomatic conferences
Western European Union
1954 in international relations
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Conferences in London
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1954 conferences
Declarations of the European Union
Anthony Eden