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Report | Doc. 292 | 16 September 1954
Reply to the Second General Report of the High Authority of the E.C.S.C. -Chapter II, External Relations of the Community-
Committee on Economic Affairs and Development
A. Draft Resolution
(open)1. The external relations of the Communi ty are of particular concern to the Council of Europe, not only in their political aspects, but even more so in their economic implications. The Consultative Assembly endorses the conception of the Council of Europe as the general framework of European economic policy, with the consequence that the relations of the E.C.S.C. with other member countries, with European organisations and with other countries and organisations not essentially European, in so far as these relations affect European economic policy, should at all times be subject to scrutiny and discussion by the Consultative Assembly.
2. The Consultative Assembly, therefore, welcomes the establishment of periodical consultations between the High Authority and the Assembly Committees directly concerned and believes that the joint meetings between the members of the Common Assembly of the E.C.S.C. and of the Consultative Assembly provide a valuable procedure for an open and full discussion of the questions of mutual interest, particularly the economic, effects of the policy of the High Authority on third countries.
3. Having considered the contents of Chapter I I of the Second General Report of the High Authority, the Consultative Assembly has taken particular note of the current or pending negotiations to which E.C.S.C. is a party. Recalling that in its Opinion No. 8, adopted on 21st May, 1954, it expressed the hope that the negotiations between the High Authority and the United Kingdom would lead to an intimate and enduring association between these two parties, the Assembly is confident, in the light iof the statements made by the parties concerned, that, whatever form this association may ultimately take, the principles of non-discrimination against third parties, including the strict control of restrictive business practices, as well as of the further development of free and unrestricted trade in coal and steel generally, will be scrupulously observed..
4. Endorsing the view, frequently expressed in the Consultative Assembly, that E.C.S.C. is a vital factor in the building of an integrated Europe, the Assembly considers it essential that future reports from the High Authority intended for examination by the Council of Europe should give more detailed information not only on present and future policies of the High Authority with respect to matters bearing upon its external relations, such as the harmonisation of tariffs, the pattern of the trade of the Community with other countries, the question of dual prices, etc., but also with respect to concrete, measures taken to implement such policies and the effects of such measures.