Word: spaak
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Moscow might frown, but persistent Belgian Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak knew what he wanted: a Western European Bloc. Pausing briefly in Brussels last week on his way from London to Paris, he made a historic statement. Said he: twice in a generation Belgian neutrality had been violated, Belgium overrun; as a result Belgium had renounced forever her traditional policy of neutrality and independence. He added "The British will supply military equipment to us. A certain number of Belgian soldiers will go to Britain for training in British methods...
...military merger of Britain and Belgium was only a first step. During Prime Minister Winston Churchill's visit to General de Gaulle, Communist influence had muffled talk of a Western Bloc (TIME, Nov. 20). But Foreign Minister Spaak would not stay muffled. He said: "I want to emphasize that the Dumbarton Oaks scheme made particular reference to what are called regional arrangements. Belgium can envisage the conclusion of a regional accord with France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and possibly Norway...
...Spaak's words found an echo in Britain. Last week London's Economist barked gruffly at Moscow: "Russia insists on a grouping under her own leadership in eastern Europe. Why should the Russian influence in western Europe be used to create opposition against the . . . grouping in the west? The Russians tend to argue . . . that only their own spheres of influence are legitimate and all others are bad. . . . The western nations ... are too self-conscious and self-confident to allow themselves to be included in anybody's sphere of influence-which cannot be said of all the nations...
...pattern of power politics crystallized in eastern Europe, another pattern was beginning to take shape in the west. Last week Belgium's Foreign Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak, arrived in London to talk western power bloc with Britain's Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden...
...Spaak, as the representative of a fully liberated country, was the first to come to London. Next, probably, would be Luxembourg's astute Foreign Minister, Joseph Bech. Soon Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden would pay a ceremonial call on General Charles de Gaulle in Paris. Later, when their countries had been freed, the plenipotentiaries of the other Atlantic states would come to London...