On 4 March 1947, in Dunkirk, France and the United Kingdom sign a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance against a possible German attack. The Treaty enters into force on 8 September 1947.

On 4 March 1947, in a room in the Dunkirk subprefecture, Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, and Georges Bidault, French Foreign Minister, sign the Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance between France and the United Kingdom.

On 4 March 1947, in Dunkirk, France and the United Kingdom, represented respectively by their Foreign Ministers Georges Bidault (on the left) and Ernest Bevin (on the right), sign a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance.

On 4 March 1947, in Dunkirk, France and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance against a possible German attack. On the same day, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the symbolic impact of this treaty, which also aims to re-establish close relations between the two countries, personified here by British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin (on the left) and his French counterpart Georges Bidault.

In a joint communiqué issued on 4 March 1947, the French and British Governments announce the signing of the bilateral Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance between France and the United Kingdom.

Nach dem Abschluss des Bündnis- und Beistandsvertrages zwischen Frankreich und dem Vereinigten Königreich am 4. März 1947 hebt die Tageszeitung Luxemburger Wort die symbolträchtige Wahl der im zweiten Weltkrieg zerstörten Stadt Dünkirchen als Ort der Unterzeichnung hervor. Auf Durchreise in Brüssel erklärt der britische Außenminister, dass sein Land bereit ist, ähnliche Verträge mit anderen europäischen Staaten abzuschließen.

On 22 January 1948, addressing the House of Commons, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, condemns the Soviet Union's political ambitions and calls for greater unity amongst the countries of Western Europe.

On 23 January 1948, the British daily newspaper Daily Mail leads with the address given the previous day in the House of Commons by Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, in which he criticised the political designs of the Soviet Union and called for a Western European Union.

On 23 January 1948, the British daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian analyses the address given by Ernest Bevin, UK Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons and speculates on the new direction of the country’s foreign policy.

On 23 January 1948, the day after the speech delivered by Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons, the British daily newspaper Daily Mail criticises the country’s foreign policy and speculates on the Foreign Secretary’s proposal to create a United Western Europe.

On 24 January 1948, the Italian Communist daily newspaper L'Unità condemns the proposal made by Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, to establish a Western European union, and warns its readers against the dangers involved in this future ‘Western war bloc’, with which Italy may well be associated.

On 26 January 1948, René Blum, the Luxembourg Ambassador to Moscow, sends a telegram to Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, in which he warns the Luxembourg authorities of the strong opposition of the Soviet press to plans for the establishment of a ‘Western bloc’ with which Benelux would be associated.

On 30 January 1948, Hervé de Gruben, Director-General for Policy in the Belgian Foreign Ministry, submits for the approval of the Foreign Ministers of the Benelux countries, among others, his memorandum on the consolidation and organisation of Western Europe, dated 28 January.

On 1 February 1948, commenting on the declaration made by the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, the Brussels weekly newspaper Le Phare Dimanche reports on the various experiences of European unification throughout history and emphasises the fact that a united Europe cannot be created through violence but through a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

On 5 February 1948, the Italian daily newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera analyses the address given by the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, in which he calls for greater unity in Western Europe and outlines the limits placed upon such unity.

On 13 February 1948, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir comments on the address given by Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, in which he proposes a Western Union. The newspaper regrets his anti-Soviet tone and explains the need to specify the ambitions of this future Union.

Joint memorandum dated 19 February 1948 from the three Benelux countries to the United Kingdom and France concerning the military defence of Europe and the establishment of a Western Union.

This British memorandum, dated 19 February 1948, outlines to the Luxembourg Government the logic behind the Franco-British proposals regarding the establishment of a Western Union, based on the model of the Dunkirk Treaty of 4 March 1947.

On 19 February 1948, Pierre Saffroy, French Ambassador to Luxembourg, sends a letter to Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, in which he sets out a plan for a treaty between France and Luxembourg broadly based on the Treaty of Dunkirk of 4 March 1947.

Summary record of the first meeting between the diplomatic representatives of Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, held on 4 March 1948 in Brussels with a view to concluding the treaty establishing Western Union.

On 10 March 1948, Robert Als, Minister Plenipotentiary of Luxembourg in Brussels, sends a letter to his Minister for Foreign Affairs, Joseph Bech, in which he lists the main provisions of the future Brussels Treaty and summarises the position of the various negotiating countries.

On 14 March 1948, the French daily newspaper Le Monde reports on the proposal made to the Benelux countries by Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, that an agreement to complement the Treaty of Dunkirk between France and the United Kingdom be concluded. This initiative was welcomed and subsequently led to the signing of the Brussels Treaty.

On 25 March 1948, in connection with the signing of the Brussels Treaty, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the opposition of Max Aitkin Beaverbrook, Conservative MP and staunch supporter of the British Empire, to the establishment of closer relations between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe.

In his memoirs, Georges Bidault, former French Foreign Minister, considers the reasons for the signing of the Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance between France and the United Kingdom in Dunkirk on 4 March 1947.

In his memoirs, Jean Chauvel, Secretary-General of the French Foreign Ministry, recalls the negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance between France and the United Kingdom in Dunkirk on 4 March 1947.

On 4 March 1948, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the hopes raised by the forthcoming establishment of a Western Union, in which France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg would participate. On 17 March 1948, in Brussels, these countries sign the Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence. The photo shows British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin (on the left) and his French counterpart Georges Bidault (on the right).

Während der Verhandlungen über den Brüsseler Pakt analysiert die Luxemburger Tageszeitung Luxemburger Wort die Bedeutung dieser neuen Organisation für die europäische Einigung.

Am 13. März 1948 hält der belgische Premierminister und Außenminister Paul-Henri Spaak in Luxemburg einen Vortrag, in dem er die Hintergründe für die Gründung des Westpaktes darlegt.

„Vielleicht blühen die Blumen im Frühling …" Vor der Unterzeichnung des Brüsseler Pakts zur illustriert der britische Karikaturist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth am 16. März 1948 die Bemühungen des britischen Außenministers Ernest Bevin und seines amerikanischen Amtskollegen George C. Marshall zur Gründung einer Westunion unter den misstrauischen Blicken Moskaus.

The Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence, signed in Brussels on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It enters into force on 25 August 1948. Although this Treaty provides only for ‘cooperation’ between the contracting parties, ‘which will be effected through the Consultative Council referred to in Article VII’, and it does not provide for the establishment of an international organisation, in practice it leads to the creation of an organisation known as the ‘Brussels Treaty Organisation’ or ‘Western Union’.

Dates on which the instruments of ratification of the Brussels Treaty of 17 March 1948 were deposited. The treaty entered into force on 25 August 1948, the date on which the last instrument of ratification was deposited.

On 17 March 1948, Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, signs the Brussels Treaty which establishes Western Union and sets up a defensive alliance as well as military, economic, social and cultural cooperation between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

On 17 March 1948, in Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence. This Treaty leads to the establishement of Western Union. From left to right: Paul-Henri Spaak, Georges Bidault, Joseph Bech, Baron Carel Godfried van Boetzelaer van Oosterhout and Ernest Bevin.

On 17 March 1948, in Brussels, the Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom is signed. This Treaty leads to the establishment of Western Union.

On 18 March 1948, the day after the signing of the Brussels Treaty, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool gives its views on the new European defence system.

Am 20. März 1948 analysiert die deutsche Tageszeitung Süddeutsche Zeitung die Tragweite der von den Außenministern Belgiens, Frankreichs, Großbritanniens, Luxemburgs und den Niederlanden anlässlich der Unterzeichnung des Brüsseler Vertrags zur Gründung der Westeuropäischen Union am 17. März 1948 abgegebenen Erklärungen.

On 21 March 1948, the Brussels newspaper Le Phare Dimanche sees, in the signing of the Treaty of Brussels and the opening of the Paris Conference on the Marshall Plan, the first encouraging signs of true European cooperation.

On 23 March 1948, Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, sends a letter to Pierre Dupong, Prime Minister, in which he emphasises the urgency of Luxembourg’s ratification of the Brussels Treaty.

Am 13. April 1948 bringt der luxemburgische Staatsrat seine Ansicht zu den wichtigsten Punkten des Brüsseler Paktes zur Gründung der Westeuropäischen Union zum Ausdruck und befürwortet den Gesetzentwurf zur Verabschiedung des Vertrags.

Am 21. April 1948 gibt der Ausschuss für Außenpolitik und Außenhandel der belgischen Abgeordnetenkammer seine Stellungnahme zur den wichtigsten Bestimmungen des Brüsseler Pakts zur Gründung der Westeuropäischen Union ab.

On 27 April 1948, following Luxembourg’s signing of the Brussels Treaty establishing Western Union, Pierre Pescatore, legal adviser at the Luxembourg Foreign Ministry, drafts a note on the Grand Duke’s power to declare war.

On 30 April 1948, as Belgium ratifies the Treaty of Brussels establishing Western Union, the Belgian liberal daily newspaper La Dernière Heure deplores the futile opposition of the Communist Party during the parliamentary debates and considers the fight against poverty as one of the essential tasks of Western Union and of a future united Europe.

On 8 May 1948, as the Congress of Europe opens in The Hague, the French magazine Une semaine dans le monde illustrates the process of European unification, referring to the Marshall Plan, WEU and the OEEC, and outlines the main political issues involved.

On 6 October 1948, during the US presidential election campaign, British cartoonist Low takes an ironic look at Western Union’s inability to defend itself and raises the possibility of US military assistance. From left to right: Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, Thomas Dewey, Republican candidate in the US presidential elections, and John Foster Dulles, diplomatic adviser to Thomas Dewey.

Background note from the Permanent Commission, dated 21 December 1948, on the general organisation of Western Union.

„Machtbalance.“ Am 23. Februar 1949 illustriert der britische Karikaturist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth die vernichtende militärische Übermacht des Ostblocks im Vergleich zu Westeuropa, das trotz der Unterzeichnung zahlloser Verträge und Pakte der kommunistischen Gefahr nicht die Stirn bieten kann. Rechts: Ernest Bevin, britischer Außenminister.

On 9 March 1949, one year after the signing of the Brussels Treaty and in the light of the increasing number of defence structures in Western Europe, British cartoonist David Low speculates on the reality of common European defence.

In his memoirs, Jean Chauvel, Secretary-General of the French Foreign Ministry, recalls the lengthy diplomatic negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty establishing Western Union on 17 March 1948 in Brussels.

In an address given to the Foreign Press Association in London in 1949, Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, reaffirms his desire to establish European unity and to provide citizens from all European countries with access to progress.

In July 1949, the fleets of the Member States of Western Union, composed of destroyers, aircraft and aircraft carriers, carry out naval exercises in the Bay of Biscay.

On the beaches adjoining Weybourne Camp near Norwich, in the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, British gunners prepare to train the Belgian and Dutch troops of Western Union in anti-aircraft techniques.

On 15 September 1954, the Information and Documentation Service of the Council of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) publishes a brief historical overview of the establishment of Western Union (WU).