Commissions

Economic Commission for Europe: The tenth session of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) was held in Geneva from March 15 to 30, 1955, under the chairmanship of Mr. Max Suetens (Belgium). Delegates from 25 European countries and the United States, as well as observers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Iran, Israel, and several specialized agencies and inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations attended the meeting. Action was taken at the session on reports from a number of the Commission's committees. After discussion of the desirability of re-convening the Industry and Materials Committee, a resolution was unanimously adopted calling for the convening of an ad hoc working party on agricultural machinery, and inviting governments to suggest to the Executive Secretary of ECE the establishment of further ad hoc working parties to deal with specific economic, industrial, legal or institutional problems. The Housing Sub-Committee was raised to the status of an independent committee, as a result of unanimous approval of a resolution sponsored by the United Kingdom. A draft resolution sponsored by the Soviet Union in the course of debate on the report of the Trade Committee, which would have called for action on the matter of strategic goods restrictions on east-west trade, was rejected by 13 votes to 5. Other resolutions adopted by the Committee included the following: 1) a resolution submitted jointly by the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom on the exchange of technical experience, which noted the positive work on technical questions already being done by the committees, and recommended the expansion of reciprocal exchange of technical experience between the countries in the Commission, was adopted unanimously; 2) as a result of consideration of the question of inter-regional cooperation, a resolution was unanimously adopted which reaffirmed the view of the Commission that inter-regional trade consultations of the type used in ECE might be useful for strengthening inter-regional trade relations and expanding world trade, and which called the matter to the attention of the Economic and Social Council; and 3) a Soviet draft resolution calling for representation of the German Democratic Republic and of the Federal Republic of Germany at the tenth session of ECE was defeated in a vote of 13 to 5 after representatives of a number of western countries maintained that, under the Commission's terms of reference, Germany could be represented only through the delegations of the occupying powers.