TREATY

MARCH 1948

BRUSSEL
S
By Alina Kulinich
17th of March, 1948 | Brussels,
Belgium
 The treaty was intended to provide Western Europe with a bulwark against the communist threat and to bring greater collective
security. There were cultural and social clauses and concepts for the setting up of a 'Consultative Council'. Co-operation between
Western nations was believed to help stop the spread of Communism

A conference is held in Brussels between the five foreign

Benelux foreign ministers declare ministers, from which point the proposal is elaborated,
that their countries agree to begin and on 12 March transmitted to the respective
these talks. governments.

31 January 1948 4 March 1948

01 02 03 04

22 January 1948 18 February 1948

British foreign minister Ernest Bevin announces that the France and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom will propose, in agreement with their submit a draft treaty to the Benelux
French colleagues, the drafting of a treaty that expands states.
the 1947 Treaty of Dunkirk to also include the Benelux
countries.
The Treaty Brussels
(the Brussels Pact)
The agreement was signed by Britain, France,
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg,
creating a collective defense alliance. It led to
the formation of NATO and the Western
European Union. A goal of the treaty was to
show that western European states could
cooperate, thus encouraging the United States to
play a role in the security of western Europe.
The treaty was intended to provide Western Europe with a bulwark against the communist threat and to bring greater collective
security. There were cultural and social clauses and concepts for the setting up of a 'Consultative Council'. Co-operation
between Western nations was believed to help stop the spread of Communism

The Brussels Pact was signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom,
the members of the Western Union, as an expansion to the Treaty of Dunkirk, which had been signed between Britain and
France the previous year to guard against possible German or Soviet aggression after the end of World War II.

The need to back up the commitments of the North Atlantic Treaty with appropriate political and military structures led to the
creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). In December 1950, the parties to the Treaty of Brussels decided to
transfer the headquarters, personnel and plans of the Western Union Defence Organisation (WUDO) to NATO, whose Supreme
Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) took over responsibility for the defence of Western Europe.

The establishment of NATO, along with the signing of a succession of treaties establishing the Organisation for European
Economic Cooperation (April 1948), the Council of Europe (May 1949) and the European Coal and Steel Community (April
1951), left the Treaty of Brussels and its Western Union devoid of authority.
 “…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… “

— THE TREATY
BRUSSELS
The treaty was amended at the 1954 Paris
Conference as a result of the failure of the Treaty
establishing the European Defence Community to
gain French ratification: The General Treaty of 1952
formally named the EDC as a prerequisite of the end
of Allied occupation of Germany, and there was a
desire to include Germany in the Western defence
architecture. The Modified Brussels Treaty (MBT)
transformed the Western Union into the Western
European Union (WEU), at which point Italy and
Germany were admitted. Although the WEU that
was established by the Modified Brussels Treaty was
significantly less powerful and ambitious than the
original Western Union, German membership of the
WEU was considered sufficient for the occupation of
the country to end in accordance with the General
Treaty.
 RATIFICATION

Belgium: 3 April 1948

United Kingdom: 2 June 1948
Luxembourg: 10 June 1948
Netherlands: 20 July 1948
France: 25 August 1948
 WESTERN UNION
The Western Union (WU), also referred to as the
Brussels Treaty Organisation (BTO), was the
European military alliance established between
France, the United Kingdom and the three Benelux
countries in September 1948 in order to implement
the Treaty of Brussels signed in March the same
year. Under this treaty the signatories, referred to
as the five powers, agreed to collaborate in the
defence field as well as in the political, economic
and cultural fields.ubtitle here if you need it
The treaty was left devoid of much of its authority after the signing of a
succession of treaties establishing:
April 1948
the Organisation for European
Economic Cooperation

April 1951 April 1949

the European Coal and Steel the North Atlantic Treaty
Community Organisation

May 1949
the Council of Europe
THANK YOU