The Nine-Power Conference
Final Act of the Nine-Power Conference (London, 28 September–3 October, 1954)
TextThe Nine-Power Conference, held from 28 September to 3 October 1954 in London, is attended by the representatives of the five states signatory to the Brussels Treaty and those of the United States, Canada and the two countries invited to accede to the Treaty: the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and Italy.
‘EDC — no, Wehrmacht — yes?’ from the Luxemburger Wort (2 October 1954)
TextOn 2 October 1954, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort regrets that the compromises secured at the Nine-Power Conference in London do not offer the same guarantees with regard to German rearmament as those provided by the European Defence Community (EDC).
Signing of the Final Act of the Nine-Power Conference (London, 3 October 1954)
ImageOn 3 October 1954, in London, in response to the failure to establish the European Defence Community (EDC) on 29 August 1954, the Nine Powers (Belgium, Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States) sign the agreements which pave the way for the Federal Republic of Germany to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and for the conversion of Western Union into Western European Union (WEU). From left to right: Gaetano Martino, Italian Foreign Minister, Antony Eden, British Foreign Secretary, Konrad Adenauer, German Chancellor, Pierre Mendès France, President of the French Council, and Lester B. Pearson, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs.
The Nine-Power Conference (London, 28 September–3 October 1954)
VideoFrom 28 September to 3 October 1954, a conference attended by the Foreign Ministers of the United States, Canada, Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany and the five Member States of the Brussels Treaty is held at Lancaster House, London, with the aim of finding a solution to the questions of organisation and defence in Western Europe.
Speech given by Konrad Adenauer to the Bundestag on the Nine-Power Conference (Bonn, 5 October 1954)
TextOn 5 October 1954, the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, informs the Bundestag about the impact of the decisions adopted in London by the Nine-Power Conference.
Cartoon by Illingworth on the Nine-Power Conference in London (6 October 1954)
ImageOn 6 October 1954, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the difficulties experienced by the French and German delegations in reaching agreement at the Nine-Power Conference held in London from 28 September to 3 October 1954.
Communiqué issued after the Nine-Power meeting (Paris, 21 October 1954)
TextOn 21 October 1954, at the Nine-Power Conference in Paris, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States resume the discussions started at the London Conference, held from 28 September to 3 October 1954, on the subject of European security and integration against the background of an Atlantic community in the throes of development.
Resolution on the production and standardisation of armaments (Paris, 21 October 1954)
TextOn 21 October 1954, in Paris, the Governments of Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom decide to convene a working party on 17 January 1955 to be responsible for considering the issue of the production and standardisation of armaments with a view to submitting proposals to the Council of Western European Union when it is established.
Anthony Eden, Full Circle: excerpt on the nine-power conference
TextIn his memoirs, Anthony Eden, British Foreign Minister from 1951 to 1955, describes the negotiation process at the Nine-Power Conference held in London from 28 September to 3 October 1954.