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The Gstaad resolutions encouraged parliamentary groups of federalists to renew and intensify their activities, and also led to the formation of further such groups. By the beginning of 1948 the parliaments of France, the Benelux countries, Italy and Greece contained non-party pro-European groups capable of taking 'every initiative that may promote the cause of European federation'. The Italian group, it is true, did not do more than announce an interpellation designed 'to lead to a debate on the federal union of European countries'.' In the British, French and Dutch parliaments, however, motions in the appropriate sense were presented in March 1948 with fairly broad support, at the instigation of the British group headed by Mackay.2 The Council of the EPU, at its meeting on 9 April 1948, formally endorsed the British motion and forwarded it to the other national groups expressing the wish that they should take similar initiatives; this, however, did not occur.
[For texts of (A), (B) and (C) see Vol. 3 of the present work, docs. 16 (France), 113 (Netherlands) and 206 (Britain).]
38. Ronald W. G. Mackay: Draft Memorandum on a European Assembly Summer 1948
Mackay Archives.
Compared to the political situation at the time of the Gstaad congress, events in 1948 considerably improved the prospects for a policy of European union. Demands for such a policy were now voiced at government level; attempts at purely economic co-operation in the OEEC context had proved insufficient as a foundation; and the desire for a European parliament had found a broader basis thanks to the attention aroused by the Hague Congress of pro-European organizations. These developments coincided with the EPU's preparations for its congress at Interlaken in September, at which the main issue was the demand for a European parliament. Mackay's memorandum, which belongs to the preparatory phase, summarized the main problems, ideas and opportunities and emphasized the importance of Britain in the process of unification.
1. At the Congress of Europe held at The Hague in May, 1948, a political resolution was unanimously passed which demanded, among other things, the convening, as a matter of real urgency, of a European Assembly chosen by the parliaments of the participating nations from members and others designed:
a. to stimulate and give expression to European public opinion;
b. to advise upon immediate practical measures designed progressively to bring about the necessary economic and political union of Europe;
c. to examine the juridical and constitutional implications arising out of the creation of such a Union or Federation and their economic and social consequences;
d. to prepare the necessary plans for the above purposes.
1 Cf. Die Friedenswarte 47 (1947), p. 309.
2 Cf. Mackay's letter of 17 March 1948 to Giacchero: *(...) that a similar motion should be considered by other parliaments of Western Europe' (Giacchero papers).
II. The European Parliamentary Union (EPU) 133
2. A European Assembly is a necessary step towards a united Europe, but I               unless the United Kingdom takes the lead, a united Europe will not occur; for
no other country in Europe has the moral authority and the organizing capacity to bring it about. The recent striking success of the Foreign Secretary in taking the initiative after Mr. Marshall's speech in June, 1947, and in negotiating both the Brussels Treaty and the Paris Convention, strongly confirms this view. And, in a lesser way, the experience of those who attended the Congress of The Hague and recent meetings of members of parliament from European countries shows that, if such an Assembly is to meet at all and ; to secure the necessary European support, the initiative must come from
Great Britain.
3. If it is to be a British initiative, the next question to consider is, what countries should be asked to participate? If the Assembly is to be representative
i of the democracies it must be limited to Western Europe, for the other coun-
! tries of Europe would not favour such an assembly. Therefore, it is suggested
that the Assembly should be constituted by representatives from the following
seventeen countries, namely: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Eire, France, Gt.
Britain, Greece, Holland, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Portugal, \ Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Western Germany. On the basis of one
I representative for every million of the population, the Assembly would com-
j prise approximately 260 persons. Moreover, in view of the peculiar position of
! Great Britain, observers should be invited from all the British Dominions;
with full rights to take part in the work of the Assembly, but without the right
to vote.
4. The next questions to settle are, how the Assembly is to be convened and how the delegates to it are to be chosen, and these raise other questions. No government would be prepared at the present time to take part in an Assembly which would have the effect of undermining, in any way or to any extent, the control and authority of its national parliament. Thus it must be clear at the outset that the Assembly must have no legislative or executive authority whatsoever: that the sole and express purpose of the Assembly must be to consider the matters referred to it and to report back to the governments of the participating States. Moreover, it must be clear that the calling of the Assembly must be compatible with, and as far as possible express, both governmental benevolence and governmental non-commitment. The problem is to reconcile the need for some authority convening the Assembly without that authority, or the Assembly, in any way committing the governments who are taking part.
5. From what body is the initiative to come? Any initiative from world-wide organizations such as the United Nations Organization (on the official level) or the Inter-Parliamentary Union (on the unofficial level) must be ruled out. Both organizations would be unable to reach agreement on a European Assembly, and in any event, it is for the peoples or the governments or the organizations of Europe itself to take the necessary steps for such an Assembly. There are three ways in which the Assembly could be convened:
A. On the initiative of the British Government prompted by a resolution of the House of Commons.
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B. By the consultative council created under the Brussels treaty of the 17th March, 1948.
C. By the organization created by the convention for European Economic Co-operation dated 16th April 1948.
6. In the case of the Brussels Agreement, it would be proper for the high contracting parties, under articles 1 and 3, to convene such an Assembly and to invite the remaining countries of Western Europe. Likewise, it would be proper for the council created under the convention for European Economic Co-operation to convene an Assembly of the countries party to the convention. While there are enormous advantages in having an official organization to convene the Assembly, it may be considered that any resolutions passed by the Assembly would, in effect, be binding on the organization which convened it, or would raise questions for that organization to consider which would create official difficulties. It can be argued on the other hand, however, that neither of the organizations need be committed in any way to what the Assembly decides. If the authority of the Assembly is clearly defined and its terms of reference are such that it can only consider the questions referred to it and report back, no real difficulties should arise. Moreover, either of these organizations would have the necessary machinery at their disposal for the organization of the Assembly.
7. If, after consideration, it is not considered practicable for the Assembly to be convened by the two bodies referred to in the preceding paragraph, then it is suggested that the All-Party group in the House of Commons for European Union should arrange for a motion to be put on the order paper in the terms of the draft attached, asking for a European Assembly, asking for the British Government to take the inititative in convening such an Assembly, and asking for the Speaker to act. If the initiative was taken in this way, there would be certain advantages; the Government would not be committed in any way; the Speaker could consult with his counterparts in the other European countries, and after an exchange of views, could set up the organization necessary for the Assembly and he could issue the invitation to it in his own name. This would enable the Assembly to be an official one in the sense that it would be properly representative of the different parliaments, but unofficial in the sense that it would not be connected in any way with the governments of the different countries. Of course the motion would have to be approved by the Government before it was put down, and it could only be put down with the approval of the Government, and the vote would have to be taken without the party whip on either side.
8. While it is important that the delegates should not be directly appointed by the Governments of each participating state, it is nevertheless important that the delegates should be representative of the parliament from which they come. Thus, in the case of the House of Commons, the Speaker, who is the servant not of the Government but of the House, could arrange the British delegation, through the usual channels as regards party members and directly as regards independents, and similar procedure could be adopted in the other countries.
9. The agenda for the Assembly could be the agenda set out in the resolution for a European Assembly passed by the Congress of Europe at The Hague. If it was thought necessary, the whole of the three resolutions could be referred to the Assembly, though the agenda would be sufficiently wide if it were confined to the political resolution alone. It should be made clear, however, and the draft resolution does make it clear, that the sole and express purpose of the Assembly is to consider the matters referred to it and to report back to the governments of the participating countries.
10. It is unnecessary at this stage to consider the place for the Assembly or the procedure. Probably the Assembly would adopt its own procedure, but it could take as a guide the rules of procedure for the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization so far as they are applicable.
39. European Parliamentary Union: Second Congress
at Interlaken 1-5 September 1948
(A) Observer's report by Brugmans
(B) 'Covering letter to the Governments and Parliaments of the Nations of Europe'
(C) 'Resolution setting forth the need for summoning a European Assembly*
(D) 'Statement of Principles for a federation of Europe'
(E) 'Measures to be taken by national groups to give effect to the Interlaken plan of action'
(F) Statutes
(A) Bulletin de l'Union Europeenne des Federalistes, no. 5, 7 Oct. 1948 (EA Archives, E 791.71).
(B) - (D): R. Coudenhove-Kalergi, Europe Seeks Unity, New York, 1948, pp. 46 if.; Common Cause, Jan. 1949, pp. 210 ff.; Giacchero papers. (D) only in Europa. Dokumente zur Frage der europäischen Einigung, vol. 1, Munich, 1962, pp. 137 ff.; J. Schwarz (ed.), Der Aufbau Europas, pp. 67 ff.; and Lipgens (ed.), 45 Jahre, pp. 248 ff.
(E) 'La Federation Europeenne', Gstaad, 1948 (EA Archives, E 792.10).
(F) 'Troisicme Congres parlementaire presente par la Chambre de Commerce, Industrie et Agriculture de Venise ä PUnion Parlementaire Europeenne', Venice, 1949 (EA Archives, E 792.10; Mackay Archives; Giacchero papers).
In accordance with the decisions of the EPU Congress at Gstaad, the Executive Council met in Gstaad from 12 to 14 December 1947. The chief purpose of the meeting was to prepare for the second Congress to be held at Interlaken at the beginning of September 1948, which was to be made more representative by a revision of the rules for the appointment of delegates.' The national delegations were to send one representative for each million inhabitants
1 In this connection ideas were taken up which had already been envisaged in planning for the Gstaad congress: cf. Coudenhove's press conference of 20 June 1947 (von Schenck papers, UEF file).
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at first on a provisional basis by the Steering Committee, and finally by the Assembly on the Comittee's recommendation.
Associate members shall take part in Assembly meetings on a non-voting
basis.
They may also, on the same basis, be invited to join in the work of the other
bodies referred to in Art. 5.
Art. 4: The EPU consists of national parliamentary groups from the free
countries. These groups must be recognized by the Council. In countries
where there is no parliamentary group, membership may be on an individual
basis. Accessions shall be received by the Council and validated by the next
Assembly after the application. Each group shall be a purely parliamentary
organization independent of any extra-parliamentary association, though it
may co-ordinate its action with movements having a similar purpose.
Art. 5: The organs of the EPU are: the Assembly, the Select Assembly (Assemble Restreinte) and the Council.
Art. 6:  (a) The Assembly consists of all members of the EPU. It shall meet annually in August or September at a place fixed by the
Council.
(b) Extraordinary sessions may be convened by the President at the Council's decision or at the request of one-fifth of the members of the Assembly.
(c) The members representing each country shall have one vote per million inhabitants or fraction thereof exceeding 500,000.
(d) Countries with a population less than 500,000 shall have one
vote.
(e) For each session of the Assembly, the national parliamentary groups shall decide on the allocation of seats among their respective i members. If there is no national group, the members from the country in question shall decide, and if they cannot agree they shall inform the Council of the dispute and abide by its decision.
Art. 7: The Assembly's debates shall be public unless the Assembly decides | otherwise.
Art. 8: Any proposal which receives a majority of votes in the Assembly but does not secure a majority of two-thirds of the States represented shall be given a second reading, and adopted only if it gains a majority of two-thirds of the votes.
Art. 9: In case of emergency, when it is technically impossible to convene the Assembly, a Select Assembly shall replace it between sessions. Dececi-sions of the Select Assembly shall be submitted to the next Assembly for ratification.
The Select Assembly shall consist of at most four delegates from each country. Sections (c) and (d) of Art. 6 shall apply to voting in the Select Assembly. The chairmen of national groups, or their representatives, shall be members of the Select Assembly, which shall be convened by the President of the EPU. The other three national delegates shall be appointed by their group. In countries where there is no national group, the four delegates shall be appointed by I
the members regularly mandated at the last Assembly. It is desirable that the members of a national delegation should belong to different parties.
Art. 10: The Council is the executive and administrative organ of the EPU. It shall draw up the annual budget and submit it to the Assembly for provisional approval. It is responsible for implementing the budget and shall render an annual account thereof. The Council shall be elected by the Assembly for one year and shall consist of one parliamentarian from each of the countries represented in the EPU. The members from each country shall designate a deputy, who shall only sit in the absence of the substantive member. The Council shall also include two parliamentary secretaries elected by the Assembly, which shall also designate two deputy secretaries. Members of the Council may be re-elected, but may not sit for more than three consecutive years.
Art. 11: The Council shall elect from its own members a President and four Vice-Presidents, who may be re-elected twice. The President shall act as chairman of the Council, the Select Assembly and the Assembly. He shall determine the date and place of Council meetings. If the President is temporarily incapacitated, he shall appoint a Vice-President to take his place. If he is incapacitated for a longer period, the Council shall appoint one of its members to carry out the President's duties.
Art. 12: The Council shall appoint a secretary-general, who may be a non-parliamentarian. He shall serve for three years and be re-eligible. He shall also act as secretary of the Assembly and the Select Assembly, and shall be responsible for the implementation of the Council's decisions. He shall choose his staff with the Council's agreement.
Art. 13: Any modifications to the present Statutes shall be proposed by the Council or by a quarter of the national groups or a quarter of the countries represented. The Statutes may be modified by a decision of the Assembly in accordance with Art. 8.
Art. 14: The dissolution of the EPU may be decided upon in accordance with Art. 13.
40. Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, Ronald W. G. Mackay, Duncan Sandys and Georges Bohy: Correspondence, and Failure of Attempts to unite the European Movement and the EPU January - February 1949
(A) Mackay to Coudenhove, 1 January 1949
(B) Coudenhove to Mackay, 10 January 1949
(C) Mackay to Coudenhove, 18 January 1949
(D) Coudenhove to Sandys, 18 January 1949
(E) Coudenhove and Bohy to Sandys, 6 February 1949
(A) Giacchero papers
(B) EM Archives