Evening star., 1948-03-06
Toward Union in Europe

In It's p0tenClanCleS At least, the Current
tive-nation conference in Brussels has all
the earmarks of being one of the most
significant of its kind in modern history.
In short-term sense, it Is likely to result
In a treaty binding together Luxembourg.
Belgium. the Netherlands, France and
Britain in the nearest thing to genuine
union that Europeans have ever seen. In
a long term sense future generations may
one day look back upon it, and bless it,
as the. great beginning that set off a
chain of developments leading to the
eventual federation of the entire continent
At the moment, of course. 1t is the short
term possibilities that make the Brussels
meeting an event Of the topmost. impor-
tance. Britain, France and the Benelux
countries inspired in part by the Marshall
Plan and spurred into Joint action by the
creeping menace of Soviet totalitarianism
are putting their minds and hearts to the
task of forming a united front by pledging
themselves to share common principles and
practices under an all-inclusive political,
cultural, economic and military treaty.
The union that Is expected to result may
be less than perfect and far from being
as firm as the one we have here In
America. But 1t will be unprecedented,
and the Kremlin will have reason to
respect it-and think long and hard about
it-as Western Europe's first concrete
counterweight to the aggressive Red en-
pire being built up in the east on the
broken remains of nearly a dozen once
independent lands.
The significance of the BRUSSELS confer
snce thus can hardly be exaggerated. The
five participating nations are acting rs
they are because the fate of Czechoslo-
vakia, Poland and all the other satellites
has taught them that unless they achieve
the strongest possible measure of unity
they will be inviting the Kremlin to over
whelm them one by one. BY joining to-
gether, however, they diminish the danger.
And If their union expands to include the
other Independent countries of Europe, the
overall grouping-with population of
about 270, 100000 and with vast industrial
and military resources-will far outclass
the combined strength of the puppet lands
behind the iron curtain. Above all, If this
new alignment has full American support,
including our adherence to q mutual
security and defense pact, the Soviet
Union may hnd itself so outweighed in the
world balance of power that 1t will begin
to pull in its horns and try cooperating.
Some may argue that the formation of
such q union would be legally doubtful
under the terms of the United Nations
Charter and would serve merely to deepen
the gulf between east and west and make
eventual war inevitable. But the gulf is
already deep and getting deeper, and the
countries of Western Europe-backed by
America-must either coalesce or take the
grave risk of falling victim. each in turn,
to direct or indirect Soviet aggression.
There can be only one sane choice in the
circumstances. In the long run, moreover,
that choice, far from creating an irrep-
arabic division, may in fact unleash forces
that in time. slowly but surely, may impel
all Europeans-on both sides of the iron
curtain--to build a great continent-wide
federation. The age-old dream need not
remain a dream forever