Show REGIONAL REGION l CUSTOMS UNION IS DEfENDED German Foreign Minister Urges Adoption Before Eu European European European Eu- Eu Federation By HENRY WOOD GENEVA GENEYA May lay 16 United PressA Press A A stout defense of or the idea of regional re regional re- re gional customs unions as an Important important tant method of alleviating allevIating- Europe's economic dilemma was made by Dr Continued on Pare Pace T Two To o REGIONAL l CUSTOMS UNION IS DEfENDED Continued from Pose Page One Julius German foreign minster nun min Ister ster in opening the debate at to today's today's today's to- to days day's session of the European I ion tion commission Dr Curtius announced Germanys Germany's readiness to begin either bilateral or multilateral negotiations with all countries In an effort to conclude customs unions He did not go Into details of the proposed Ger Austro-Ger- man tarl tariff accord which has been attacked by France Francc Instead he specifically suggested a a. German Franco customs union Dr Curtius described d how the Austro- Austro German telegraph accord In the last century led to the All Telegraph Telegraph Telegraph Tele Tele- graph union He argued that bilateral and re regional regional re- re gional economic agreements In Europe Europe Eu- Eu rope ope inevitably would culminate in inthe inthe inthe the economic unification of all aU Europe Eu Eu- rope The effects of the world-wide world economIc economic eco ceo depression on Europe were taken aken up for discussion at the commissions commission's com corn missions mission's conference today Aristide BrIand French foreign minister entered the discussion by saying that customs are not the entire entire entire en en- tire problem Customs are arc not even the cause but jut rather the effect of the problem to be considered BrIand said and once regulated the fundamental problem will still remain FRANCE OPPOSED The trouble with past efforts was that we have been too ambitious endeavoring endeavoring endeavoring en en- to settle the whole problem problem problem lem Immediately Instead of by successive sue sue- separate steps The historic effort to establish a Franco-Belgian Franco customs union raised such universal opposition that France understood she had no right to undertake undertake un un- action which might prove harmful to Europe as a whole Likewise today we cannot permit any action acton violating treaties and not notto notto notto to the interest of all Europe Europ His last lat remark was construed as a referring to the proposed Austro- Austro German customs custom union uon which France Fance opposes |