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Page 255 8. I have come to the conclusion that, without sacrificing any of the principles on which our policy is based, we could agree, subject to certain modifications, to the amendment dealt with in paragraph 31 of the officials' report, which would permit the Assembly to discuss the political aspects of defence. This is an amend- ment to which the Assembly attaches considerable importance. Since, however, the Assembly has insisted on holding debates on defence questions in spite of the existing provisions of the Statute, our concession would amount to no more than giving statutory recognition to an existing state of affairs, which has been tolerated by the Committee of Ministers.

7. We have always maintained the position that defence questions should remain outside the scope of the Council of Europe, on the grounds that the defence of Western Europe is being dealt with by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and that discussion of the same issues by a purely European organisation, which includes non-N.A.T.O. countries, can only lead to duplication and confusion. We could not, therefore, agree that the Committee of Ministers should be drawn into the consideration of defence problems and make recommendations on defence questions to member Governments.

8. On the other hand, we are faced with the fact that members of the Assembly have discussed defence questions in the past and there is no possibility of preventing them from doing so in the future. The Labour Party representatives in the Assembly have persistently abstained from participation in such debates. This policy, however, is embarrassing for the Labour Party delegates, and has the disadvantage of allowing the case of His Majesty's Government to go by default. It is possible that, if the Labour delegates were free to take part in these debates, they would obtain support in modifying the Assembly's conclusions on defence matters and in preventing the Assembly from being used by the French Govern- ment as a sounding-board for the propagation of such ideas as the European Army.

9. It therefore seems advisable, as well as logical, that we should hence- forward acquiesce in the discussion of the political aspects of defence by the Assembly. We should, however, still insist on the principle that decisions on defence matters are not within the competence of the Council of Europe, and that defence would therefore remain outside the scope of the Committee of Ministers. The object which I have in mind can be achieved by the amendment of two of the Articles of the Statute as shown in the annex to this paper. These incorporate one of the amendments proposed by the Assembly, i.e., that the word "political" should be inserted into Article 1 (b) of the Statute, but, at the same time, give the Committee of Ministers incontrovertible legal grounds for refusing to consider recommenda- tions on defence emanating from the Assembly.

10. The Council of Europe has hitherto devoted too much time to discussions on constitutional questions which have not only prejudiced relations between the Committee of Ministers and the Consultative Assembly, but have also made our own position in the Council of Europe particularly difficult. The preoccupation of the Assembly with the revision of the Statute has been partly due to the fact that it has insufficient work to do, with the result that it has attempted to extend its field of action and to play a larger part in the management of European affairs. I am therefore anxious that we should find useful tasks for the Assembly to perform consistent with its consultative rôle. I should accordingly like to remind my colleagues of the request made by my predecessor in C.P. (50) 236, paragraph 19 (2), that they should make enquiries in their own Departments as a matter of urgency to ascertain whether the European aspects of any of the subjects with which they deal could suitably be handled by the Council of Europe.

Recommendation

11. I ask my colleagues to agree that, as proposed in paragraph 9 above, the United Kingdom Representative should be authorised to put forward an amend- ment to the Statute which will permit the Consultative Assembly to discuss the political aspects of defence, while ensuring that the Committee of Ministers are precluded from taking decisions on defence questions.

PForeign Office S.W. 1,

16th April, 1951.

H. M.

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