Treaty of Brussels ,March 1948

The Treaty of Brussels was signed by the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands on 17 March 1948. It was a mutual intergovernmental self-defence treaty which also promoted economic, cultural and social collaboration. As a result of the failure of the European Defence Community on 23 October 1954 the WEU was established by the Paris Agreements with the incorporation of Italy and West Germany. On this occasion it was renamed the Western European Union. The signatories of the Paris Agreements clearly stated their three main objectives in the preamble to the modified Brussels Treaty: To create in Western Europe a firm basis for European economic recovery; To afford assistance to each other in resisting any policy of aggression; To promote the unity and encourage the progressive integration of Europe. The defence efforts resulting from the Brussels Treaty took form as the Western Union Defence Organisation (see below). The Brussels Pact had cultural and social clauses, concepts for the setting up of a ’Consultative Council’. The basis for this was that a cooperation between Western nations would help stop the spread of Communism.