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The Western European Union Armaments Pool 43
field was open therefore for competition between France's arms industry which had
considered the EDC and would consider any new arrangement to be a channel for
securing the Continental European market for its own products and Britain's industry,
which was technically and financially stronger and more competitive thanks to
its worldwide dimension. Standardization would be playing a part in such competition
and Wormser openly planned to use it to drive Continental armed forces away
from British standards and cause them to accept French standards. He suggested
setting ceilings for the percentage of national budgets which could be diverted
abroad while downgrading the importance of price in favour of technical features
when it came to the assignment of production orders. He also expected the "strategically
exposed regions" clause to channel German and Benelux capital into the
development of joint industries in southern and western France and North Africa.
The Armaments Agency Project launched at the London Nine Power
Conference from 28 September to 3 October 1954
Although Mendès France personally disliked the armaments community concept 19
the idea became part and parcel of French plans for Germany's integration into the
Western military alliance at the London conference. Before that, it had been adapted
to fit in with the dual membership scheme for Germany worked out by Anthony
Eden.
During the discussions with Eden on 15 to 16 September which produced the
NATO formula for German rearmament Mendès France put forward the idea of an
armaments agency. In an interview granted to the then Manchester Guardian he
declared that mutual confidence in Europe was possible only if an agreement could
be reached among Europeans on the subject of an effective system for the limitation
and control of armaments. 20
On 18 September France's position had been clarified enough to be circulated
among the French Ambassadors in the NATO capitals for presentation to the Allied
governments. 21 In the memorandum delivered to the Allies Mendès France endorsed
the NATO WEU scheme and confirmed that the rationale behind it was to
ensure, through the establishment of a European organization, that NATO membership
did not foster unlimited German rearmament. NATO's annual fixing of a
minimum national contribution in terms of armaments and manpower would
become the maximum contributions allowed to the WEU countries. The WEU
Council's powers concerning armaments were magna pars in France's proposals. In
addition to checks to ensure that no manufacture of Category A weapons, namely,
19. P.O. LAPIE, De Blum à de Gaulle, p. 562-566.
20. Documents diplomatiques français, Paris (hereafter DDF), 1954, Annexes, Entretien P. Mendès
France – A. Eden; P. MENDES FRANCE, Oeuvres complètes, III, Gouverner c'est choisir 1954-
1955, Paris 1986, p. 322-323.
21. DDF, 1954, doc. n. 195, Note circulaire, 18 September 1954.