European Defense Community (redirected from EDC)

European Defense Community (EDC)

Attempt by western European powers, with U.S. support, to counterbalance the overwhelming conventional military ascendancy of the Soviet Union in Europe by creating a supranational European army, including West German forces. A treaty was concluded in 1952, but the French parliament's refusal to ratify the treaty in 1954 brought an end to the project. One consequence of the French action was the decision in 1955 to rearm West Germany and allow its entry into NATO. In 1955 the EDC was replaced by the Western European Union.

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European Defense Community 

a military alignment of six Western European states: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The creation of the community was provided for in the Treaty of Paris (1952) and the “General Treaty” (1952). The plans for creation of the European Defense Community were not implemented, because on Aug. 30, 1954, the National Assembly of France voted down the Treaty of Paris. However, with the adoption of the Paris agreements of 1954 these plans were in fact implemented within the structure of another military alignment, the Western European Union. In addition to the states that had in-tended to join the European Defense Community, Great Britain also became a member of the Western European Union.