American Committee on United Europe
 American Committee on United Europe    | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1948 |
| Founder | • Bill Donovan • Allen Dulles |
| Proves European unity movement was a heavily US-driven project. | |
The American Committee on United Europe (ACUE) was an American organization which sought to counter the "Communist threat" in Europe by promoting European political integration. Its first chairman was ex-wartime OSS head, William Joseph Donovan.[1]
The structure of the organisation was outlined in early summer of 1948 by Bill Donovan and Allen Dulles by then also reviewing the organization of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[2] in response to assistance requests by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi and Winston Churchill.
A memorandum, later declassified, bearing Donovan's signature and dated dated July 26, 1950 gives instructions for a campaign to promote a fully fledged European parliament. The vice chairman of ACUE was Allen Dulles and the board of ACUE included Walter Bedell Smith.[3] ACUE was an important early funder of both the European Movement and the European Youth Campaign. The ACUE itself received funding from the Rockefeller and Ford foundations.[1]
The U.S. policy was to promote a United States of Europe, and to this end the committee was used to discreetly funnel CIA funds - by the mid 50's ACUE was receiving roughly $1,000,000 USD per year - to European pro-federalists supporting such organizations as the Council of Europe, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the proposed European Defence Community.[4]
References
- ↑ a b http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/1356047/Euro-federalists-financed-by-US-spy-chiefs.html
- ↑ Aldrich, Richard - OSS, CIA and European Unity: The American Committee on Untied Europe 1948-60. Diplomacy & Statecraft. 1st March 1997
- ↑ http://mtwsfh.blogspot.com/2010/03/1950-cias-european-union-torturing.html
- ↑ Giles Scott-Smith, Hans Krabbendam, The Cultural Cold War in Western Europe, 1945-1960 p.46, Roosevelt Study Center.
External links
- Archival sources on the American Committee for a United Europe can be consulted at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence
