Copies of records of the Brussels Treaty Organisation and Western European Union

Division within DG

1946-1958

Records of the Brussels Treaty Organisation and Western European Union, relating to its remit of collective self-defence and economic and social collaboration comprising microfilm copies of files in DG 1

Western European Union

Public Record(s)

English

• Brussels Treaty Organisation, 1948-1954
• Western European Union, 1954-1954

1 series

Authorisation from WEU required before photocopying.

Open unless otherwise stated

from 1981 Western European Union

Topics

Treaties and alliances

Europe and Russia

Brussels Treaty Organisation

The Brussels Treaty Organisation (BTO) was established by the Treaty of Brussels which was signed on 17th March 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and provided for collective self-defence and economic and social collaboration.

The supreme administrative authority within the Brussels Treaty Organisation was a Consultative Council composed of the Foreign Ministers of the five powers which met at least once in every three months in the capital of each country in turn. Between ministerial meetings the Council delegated political responsibility to a Permanent Commission of diplomatic representatives which met in London at least once a week. Both the Consultative Council and the Permanent Commission were served by an internationally staffed Secretariat-General, also stationed in London.

The Defence Organisation of the Brussels Treaty Organisation is divided into two parts consisting of the Higher Direction Organisation and the Command Organisation.

The Higher Direction Organisation is divided into six committees: 1. Defence Committee, consisting of the five defence ministers, which meets every three months in one of the Treaty countries;2. Chiefs of Staff Committee, which is an advisory body to the Defence Committee on military matters. Their meetings are held every month in London, and US and Canadian representatives attend by invitation;3. Military Committee consisting of delegations from each Treaty member. They sit permanently in London and give shape to suggestions submitted by the Defence Committee;4. Military Supply Board with responsibility for the provision of military supplies;5. Supply Executive Committee which is the permanent working body for the Military Supply Board;6. Secretariat General which co-ordinates the work of the other five committees and is manned by representatives from each of the Treaty Powers.

The Command Organisation, with permanent headquarters at Fontainebleu, consists of the Commanders-in-Chief's Committee in which no one member exercises executive command in peacetime. The Committee receives its orders from the Defence Committee at governmental level through the Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Western European Union

The Western European Union (WEU) was formed in 1954 when the Treaty of Brussels was modified and extended to include the Federal Republic of Germany and Italy. However with the overlap of function with the Council of Europe and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation the WEU became largely defunct. A decision to reactivate the WEU was taken by a group of European Union (EU) members in 1984 and it now has a role as the defence component of the EU.