European NAvigator ENA

european navigator
The first digital library on the history of Europe
updated on 21-09-2006
 
 
Fact Sheet (Treaty n°2282) FR EN DE
The Brussels Treaty (17 March 1948)
www.ena.lu

The Brussels Treaty (17 March 1948)

Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence, signed in Brussels on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It enters into force on 25 August 1948. Although this Treaty provides only for ‘cooperation' between the contracting parties ‘which will be effected through the Consultative Council referred to in Article VII' and does not provide for the establishment of an international organisation, in practice it leads to what becomes known as ‘Western Union' or the ‘Brussels Treaty Organisation'.

Consult the document in the ENA digital library
CVCE
Château de Sanem
L-4992 Sanem
tél +352 59 59 20 1
fax +352 59 59 20 555
cvce@cvce.lu

www.cvce.lu
Title The Brussels Treaty (17 March 1948)
Document type Treaty
Source Western European Union - Union de l'Europe Occidentale. [ON-LINE]. [Bruxelles]: Union de l'Europe occidentale, [06.10.2000]. Disponible sur http://www.weu.int/index.html.
Keywords Brussels Treaty, signature of an agreement, Western Union
Copyright © WEU Secretariat General - Secrétariat Général UEO
Caption Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence, signed in Brussels on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It enters into force on 25 August 1948. Although this Treaty provides only for ‘cooperation' between the contracting parties ‘which will be effected through the Consultative Council referred to in Article VII' and does not provide for the establishment of an international organisation, in practice it leads to what becomes known as ‘Western Union' or the ‘Brussels Treaty Organisation'.
Location in the digital library RESEARCH AND TEACHING >> University education >> European Law I 2006-2007 (Prof. Herwig Hofmann, University of Luxembourg) >> II. The European organisations
SPECIAL FILES >> Luxembourg and the European integration process >> Participation in post-war alliances
EUROPEAN ORGANISATIONS >> Western European Union >> Origin and development >> The origins of WEU: Western Union
EUROPEAN ORGANISATIONS >> Western European Union
HISTORICAL EVENTS >> 1950–1956 The formation of the community of Europe >> The organisation of common defence >> Western European Union
HISTORICAL EVENTS >> 1945–1949 The pioneering phase >> Military cooperation >> Western Union
Document extract Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence (Brussels, 17 March 1948) His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Belgium, the President of the French Republic, President of the French Union, Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands and His Majesty The King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Resolved: To reaffirm their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the other ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations; To fortify and preserve the principles of democracy, personal freedom and political liberty, the constitutional traditions and the rule of law, which are their common heritage; To strengthen, with these aims in view, the economic, social and cultural ties by which they are already united; To co-operate loyally and to co-ordinate their efforts to create in Western Europe a firm basis for European economic recovery; To afford assistance to each other, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, in maintaining international peace and security and in resisting any policy of aggression; To take such steps as may be held to be necessary in the event of a renewal by Germany of a policy of aggression; Read more in ENA
See also Report of the meeting of the five Finance Ministers of Western Union (Brussels, 28 and 29 April 1948)
Background note from the Permanent Commission on Western Union (London, 21 December 1948)
Fact sheet on Western European Union
Signing of the Brussels Treaty (Brussels, 17 March 1948)
Ratifications and entry into force of the Brussels Treaty (1948)
ENA is the first digital library documenting the history of European integration. It is freely available online and provides access to a wealth of multimedia, multilingual and multisource material that will help you learn more about the history of Europe from 1945 to the present day. ENA is developed by the Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe (Virtual Resource Centre for Knowledge about Europe — CVCE).