Britain, France Compromise on Controversial Treaty Word

Prime Minister John Major met French President Francois Mitterrand in Dunkirk on Monday, seeking to avoid a serious conflict over the language in a new European Community treaty that will be discussed at this weekend’s EC summit.

Mitterrand indicated that while he disagreed with Major over using the word federal to describe a new political union, he would not force the issue at the summit in Luxembourg.

Major has embarked on a weeklong campaign to keep the other 11 members of the EC from insisting on a federal union, which has been supported by most of Britain’s partners.

“We ought not leave a phrase so capable of misunderstanding in the treaty,” explained Major after the meeting in the French port city.

Major said that if federalism means a “great level of centralization,” Britain would object.

Mitterrand indicated that Britain wouldn’t be forced into a corner on the issue at this summit.

“Our preference would be a somewhat stronger structure, a federal type for example,” he said. “But we had not planned to spend the little time at our disposal to try to persuade our British friends on our views on that.”

The French leader thus seemed to defer to Major’s wishes to save the final phrasing of an amended Treaty of Rome, the EC’s constitution, for the next regular EC summit in December.

Mitterrand will see German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Tuesday to discuss the agenda of the weekend summit, while Major will see Prime Minister Jacques Santer of Luxembourg, which now holds the six-month EC presidency.

Last week, Luxembourg shook up the British by insisting that a reference to “federal destiny” be included in a new EC treaty draft, expected to be approved at the summit on Friday and Saturday.

Luxembourg and most other EC members favor a federal system for Europe as a way toward eventual political union. To them, federal means simply a loose association.

But the British believe that federalism would suggest a kind of European super-state, which they oppose, supported by Portugal and Denmark. In any event, the British say the word should not be injected into the treaty language until it is more closely defined.