SUMMARY OF STATEMENTS MADE BY GEN. DE GAULLE AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON 21 DECEMB

Created: 12/21/1951

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

SUMMARY OF STATEMENTS made by Gen. De Gaulleress conference on

General De Gaulle gave an outline of his party's views on European unity and the formation of aArmyress conference onn which he bad strongly criticized both the Schuman and Pleven Plans ln their present form.

Three conditions, he said, were necessaryuropean Federation which would be able to defend trong France able to carry out apolicy; he firm Incorporation of Germany into European institutions, in order to abolish the danger of German hegemony; ranco-Germanbrought about by direct negotiations between the heads of the two States, as the basis of European federation. e declared, favoured the formationuropean Confederation in which each country would have equal rights and would contribute its own forces under clearly defined mutualso that "no one country could ever seek aof hegemony over the rest." Condemning the Schuman and Pleven Plans as "substitutes" andwhich, he contended, "might endangerunity by arousing popular disguste declared that the Schuman Plan might lead to France's being flooded with cheap goods from Germany and the Benelux countries, whilst the Pleven Plan eliminated the "essential national spirit,"for "an army of infantrymen" which would be only an instrument of "anothernd was bound eventually to result in the revival of the German Army whilst abolishing the national armlos of othernotably of France. Commenting on Britain's decision to tako no part in either plan, ho maintained that Britain had no intention of Joining any movement for European unity, and recalled that Mr. Churchill had said to him during the war: ave to choose between you and Roosevelt, I'll choose Roosevelt, andave to choose between Europe and the openlways choose the open sea." General De Gaullecriticized. for using excessive pressure ln favour of European unity, and suggested. officials should "use greater restraint in the way they treat Europeans, especially ln Paris."

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