Evening star., 1963-01-29
BRUSSELS
BRUSSELS 43.
Pleas to Admit Britain
To Common Market Fail
Continued From Page Al

Continued From Page Al
conclusion since noon. West
German Economic Minister
Ludwig Erhard summed 1t up
for reporters at the luncheon
recess:
"The negotiations are over.
They have failed. 3. No prog
ress at all has been made. The
five are still in agreement that
Britain should be brought into
the Common Market, but they
cannot convince France"
The five to which he re-
ferred are West Germany,
Italy, Belgium. the Netherlands
and Luxembourg. All their
pleas and the eleventh-hour
American Intervention failed
TO bulge the French.
Outside the conference room,
an official French spokesman
tried to sweeten the pill.
PatrOnizing Sound
In a statement that sounded
patronizing to some OF the
Britons, he said Gen. de Gaulle
would allow the negotiations
to begin again when he felt
the British had become ripe
and mature enough to become
members Of the political and
trade grouping. Gen. de Gaulle
had set those conditions when
he threw the wrench into the
negotiations machinery.
The same spokesman said the
British could get into the Com
mon Market promptly If they
accepted without quibbling all
the provisions of the 1857
treaty Of Rome setting up the
organization.
In 16 months of tedious nego-
tiations the British sought to,
gain membership under terms
which would protect their Com
monwealth partners and the
members Of the rival British
led European Free Trade Asso-
citation.
Just before the ministers met,
United States Ambassador John
Tuthill handed Mr.. Erhard a
statement expressing the United
States Governments concern at
the bitter dispute. b.
Similar statements were un-
derstood to have been delivered
by United States ENJOYS in all
capitals of the Common Market
nations and in Britain. Ameri-
can sources indicated it car
ried the stamp of President
Kennedy's thinking.
Washington Concerned 4,
The Intervention reflected
Washington's concern at the
abrasive argument touched off
by Gen. de Gaulle in his pur-
suit of a dream of a new,
French-led Europe, with Amer
ican as we'll as British influence
reduced. .4
Diplomats fayoring the Brit
ish cause laid the responsibility /
for the crisis solely on the
shoulders of the French. |,
Up to the last the West Ger
mans, with the support Of all
but the French, urged that the
membership issue be referred
to the nine-man Common Mar
ket commission to keep Brit
aims application alive.
That executive body would
have studied the record Of the
months of negotiations with
the British and returned a re-
port later to the ministers Of
LIlc SlA dllu DAlJdlll.
Mr.. Spaak said it proved i'm
possible to continue negotia-
tions with France absent. This
was a reference to the So
called empty chair formula"
considered by diplomats in for
NAL sessions and private con-
facts since Saturday night.
eThe Common Market viii
continue to live, but the Euro
pean spirit has been badly hit"
the Belgian Foreign Minister
said. 4,
Leadership Doubted
Mr. spsak's views we're
echoed by Dutch Foreign Min
lister Joseph Luns. Il
Belgian Premier Theo Lefevre
implied that France is not big
enough or strong enough to
lead a Europe divorced from
the Americans
"A united Europe can sit
down as an equal with the
United States, but individual
countries cannot do this" he
said. "Only small countries are
left in Western Europe now
those which know they are
small and those which do not
know It,"
French Foreign Minister
Maurice Couve de Murville
conferred for more than two
hours this morning with the
West Germans. Il
Mr.. Erhard was taking a
pro-British line, informants
said. while Mr.. Schroeder
wanted TO be careful not to
damage the new French-Ger-
man relationship.
The West German proposal
for a study period appeared to
be q maneuver 10 postpone the
final breakdown until after the
West German Parliament votes
on ratification Of the treaty OF
French-West German cooper
alton. The treaty may have
hard shedding with West Ger
man lawmakers now. Y
The vice chairman Of the
Common Market commission,
Giuseppe Caron Of Italy. said
the Frenc h-German treaty
might lead TO "outdated politi-
cal formulas which through
the European communities we
tried 10 surpaSs."