Suchergebnisse

France in the « post-Pershing » period, by Pierre Lellouche
Even though the Soviets lost the test of wills, the Euromissile issue is by no me ans over now that the first deployment has taken place. Not having made any real concessions in time, the Kremlin's bluff failed. Although the North Atlantic alliance certainly gained an important psychological success, the European democracies must endure another four years internal conflict over this issue. The two big questions which will arise over future Geneva negotiations are : which of the superpowers will give way first ? and : how will political feeling evolve in Western Europe if nothing happens in Geneva before 1985 ? France may be force during this « post-Pershing » period to make fundamental redefinition of its defence and national security policies. This could engender rupture of the « consensus » of opinion in France which has up till now been apparent in matters of defence. The problem of European security in the coming years can only lead once more to the idea of cooperative inter-European defence system. Only France could take far-reaching initiative in this respect and all depends on whether the French who have legitimate worries about the consequences of German feelings of insecurity have the energy to overcome their own inertia as well as that of their fellow Europeans.

Aus europäischer Sicht

While nonproliferation is no longer in the focus of international attention in the aftermath of the Afghanistan crisis, the problem of checking the spread of nuclear weapons was the subject of an intense controversy between the United States and Europe throughout the 1970s.Beginning with the Ford administration policy and continuing with the new Carter nonproliferation policy, a major nuclear controversy opposed the American and European nuclear suppliers.The first area of controversy was the question of technological transfers to the Third World and the conditions for such transfers (embargoes on sensitive technology, IAEA safeguards). The controversy also spread into the area of the plutonium economy—i.e., breeders and reprocessing. On both of these questions, most of the problems raised in the 1970s are still open despite some rapprochement between European and American positions. Major points of disagreement remain in the aftermath of the INFCE: full scope safeguards, the question of breeder reactors, and plutonium economy. The major uncertainty for the future will be whether nuclear energy as a whole will remain in the present state of depression or whether nuclear programs throughout the world will grow again.