American Committee on United Europe
The American Committee on United Europe (ACUE), founded in 1948, 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 Donovan and Allen Welsh 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.
Declassified American government documents have shown that the 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 discreetely 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.[3]
See also
References
- 1 2 Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose (2000-09-19). "Euro-federalists financed by US spy chiefs". Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ↑ Aldrich, Richard - OSS, CIA and European Unity: The American Committee on Untied Europe 1948-60. Diplomacy & Statecraft. 1st March 1997
- ↑ 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