Accession of Greece and Turkey - Proposed European Defence Com- munity - TCC recommendations adopted -Infrastructure- Military terms of reference revised - Adaptation of NATO's organization by appointment of a Secretary General heading a unified interna
The ninth session of the North Atlantic Council was held in Lisbon from February 20th to February 25th 1952, under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Lester B. Pearson, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs.
On February 18th, the Kingdom of Greece and the Republic of Turkey acceded to the Treaty, and representatives of their respective governments attended throughout the session. In all, thirty-five Ministers of fourteen countries took part in the discussions of the Council.
The Council made further progress in dealing with current and long-range problems of the Atlantic Community. The decisions taken and the agreements reached by the Council are the practical result of projects initiated at earlier sessions and reflect the continuing work of the Treaty agencies. They represent the united efforts of member governments to safeguard the peace, stability and well-being of the North Atlantic Community through the strengthening of their collective defence.
The Council took note of a report of the Paris Conference on the European Defence Community and a report by the Occupying Powers on the proposed contractual arrangements with the German Federal Republic. The Council found that the principles underlying the Treaty to establish the European Defence Community conformed to the interests of the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty. It also agreed on the principles which should govern the relationship between the proposed Community and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The North Atlantic Council agreed to propose to its members and to the European Defence Community reciprocal security undertakings between the members of the two organizations. Such undertakings would require ratification in accordance with the constitutional processes of the states involved. All these decisions are inspired by the conviction that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Defence Community have a common objective, to strengthen the defence of the Atlantic area, and that the development of the European Defence Community should be carried forward in this spirit. Therefore, the Council considered that the obligations and relationships between the Communities should be based on the concept of two closely related organizations, one working, so far as this objective is concerned, within the framework of, and reinforcing the other.