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A union, not a unity: The Briand Memorandum

Em. Macron, Rediscovering the Path to Europe

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It is proposed in no way to form a European group outside the League of Nations, but, on the contrary, to bring European interests into harmony under the control of, and in conformity with, the spirit of the League of Nations, by creating within its universal organisation an organisation which, for being limited, would be all the more effective. The creation of a federal system in Europe would always be placed to the credit of the League of Nations as bringing about progress of which even nations outside Europe could reap the benefit.

Such a conception can leave no room for ambiguity, any more than that which, in an even more limited area, gave birth to the collective negotiation of the Locarno agreements`' which inaugurated the real policy of European cooperation.

There are, in fact, certain questions of particular interest to Europe for which, in the interests of peace itself, the European States may feel the need of special, more immediate and more direct action, and with which they are, moreover, especially competent to deal, because of their racial affinities and their common ideals of civilisation. The League of Nations itself, in the general exercise of its activities, has more than once had to take into account this geographical unity which Europe represents, and for which common solutions may be found which could not be imposed upon the whole world. To prepare and facilitate the coordination of those activities of the League which are essentially European would be one of the tasks of the proposed association.

Far from constituting a fresh tribunal for the settlement of disputes, the European association, which could not be called upon in such matters to use its good offices except in a purely consultative capacity, would not be competent to deal fully with particular problems for the settlement of which a special procedure of the League of Nations or some other expressly defined procedure has been laid down by the Covenant or by treaties. But even in matters involving a task essentially reserved for the League of Nations, the federal bond between the European States would still play a very useful part in preparing an atmosphere favourable to a peaceful settlement by the League, or in facilitating, in practice, the execution of its decisions.

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      Cf.  Proudhon, Principe Fédératif * Le mémorandum d'Alexis Leger * Kalergi, European Spirit must Precede Europe's Political Unification * La Construction de l'Europe selon Jean Monnet * Plan Fouchet * L'Union Européenne selon Altiero Spinelli * Mitterrand and Kohl urge European Political Union

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