DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memorandum of Conversation
DATE: September 7, 1951
PARTICIPANTS: Mr. Paul Van Zeeland, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs The Secretary of State Mr. Charles E. Bohlen
During the course of luncheon and afterwards, Mr. VAN ZEELAND made the following observations:
1. Acceptance of Greece and Turkey
He stated there was still opposition on the part of the Danes and Norwegians but he felt that they were coming along and that at Ottawa they would fall in line.
2. Clearing arrangement to increase European production
Mr. Van Zeeland said it was his personal idea, which he had not cleared with his Cabinet, that a great step forward could be made in accelerating European armament production if some form of clearing arrangement and common pool could be worked out which would permit financing of long term production. This he felt would permit present unused facilities to be brought into production since it would permit certain countries to place orders with the producers of other countries which in any one year did not have adequate budgetary funds. He promised to send the Secretary a memorandum on the subject.
CDBohlen:mcw