BRITAIN AND FRANCE ACT ALONE

Chronicle (Levin), 4 July 1947, Page 5

BRITAIN AND FRANCE ACT ALONE

Press Assn.-

EUROPEAN NATIONS INVITED TO CONFERENCE ON MARSHALL PLAN . ,

By Telegraph

■Copyright

Received Friday, 11.15 a.m. LONDON, July 3. Britain and France have decided to invite all European states, with the temporary exception of Spain, to take part in framing a reply to Mr. Marshall's proposals for European reconstruction. Mr. Bevin and M. Bidault announced this today in a joint communique following the failure to reach agreement with Russia at the Paris conference.

The comrmmique stated: "If Europe is to take the initiative in the work of reconstruction, a list of its'resources and needs must be drawn up as quickly as possible, and a temporary organisation must be established to collate the data on which the programme would be based. "Britain and France have, therefore, decided to invite all European states, with the temporary exception of Spain, who desire to participate in the framing of a reply to Mr. Marshall's suggestion to help establish an organisation whose task will be to draw up a programme of European reconstruction, in which the resources and needs of each country will be co-ordinated according to the country's own desires. "This offer to participate in the organisation 's work will be open to all European states." Mr. Bevin arrived back in London today from Paris, and the French Foreign Offlce announced that M. Bidault will visit Britain next week to continue discussions with Mr. Be.vin about European action on the Marshall plan. A Foreign Office spokesman disclosed that Britain and France had jointly sent invitations to 22 nations to join discussions on Mr.

Marshall's plan. A copy of the invitaiion was sent to M. Alexander Dogomolov, the Russian Ambassador in Paris, with an expression of the hope by France that the Russian refusal was not definite, and that Russia would cooperate. The invitations propose that the 22 nations, and Britain and France, should meet in Paris on July 12. ! Britain and France have advised the United States of the action taken. Reuter's Paris correspondent says the invitations to the talks went over the signature of M. Bidault to Portugal, Iceland, Eire, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Switzerland; Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, iBulgaria, Austria and Turkey. i A French Foreign Office spokesj man said that acceptance of the , invitations meant that the nations jconcerned would accept, as the i basis of the talks, the French plan j offered the Foreign Ministers on July 1, providing for a steering 'committee and sub-committees to jassess Europe's economic potential jand requirements, and including guarantees of sovereignty.