Western Powers to solicit Germany’s entry or to give the impression that by
applying for membership Germany would be conferring a favour. On the contrary
her admission is likely, on a short term at all events, to bring greater advantage to
Germany than to the Western European countries.
5. The somewhat exaggerated form of present German protests leads to the
conclusion that it is only worth while having Germany in the Council of Europe if
she comes in with an honest determination to pursue a Western policy and to
contribute as well as receive. Otherwise it would be a precarious arrangement and
we might at any time be faced by the threat that Germany must leave the Council
because she had not received satisfaction on some particular issue and hat consequently
lost faith in the West. This was her attitude over the League of Nations.
1 understand that the publication of these agreements should be displeasing to
German opinion and that Dr. Adenauer should be influenced by his parliamentary
position. Nevertheless it is important that he should be under no misapprehension
as to the attitude of the British Government. I shall be glad if you will take an early
opportunity of discussing the matter with the Federal Chancellor and this telegram
should give you ample material upon which to draw. Before doing so you may
wish to concert with your United States colleague in order to ensure that you and
he will be speaking on broadly similar lines.
I would suggest that you should avoid discussion of the detailed terms of the agreements,
since we should not establish the position that these agreements are
appropriate subjects for joint examination by the Allied High Commission and the
German Federal Government. You might concentrate instead on the main issue
which is that the agreements have been deliberately drawn up so as to reserve for
the Peace Treaty the future status of the Saar and that in this respect they meet the
original objections put forward by the Chancellor.
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