![[ George C. Marshall ]](/images/specials/1997/marshall.gif) During the last week of May 1997, President Bill Clinton will meet with European heads of state on issues of economic cooperation and NATO expansion, but mostly to celebrate an important Euro-American anniversary -- that of the Marshall Plan.
On June 5, 1997, it will be 50 years since the launching of the so-called Marshall Plan -- America's program to help rebuild Europe after the devastation of World War II. The program only lasted four years, but it has been the most successful foreign assistance initiative ever undertaken. And the impact of the Marshall Plan endures to this day in economic institutions, government policies and above all in the growing movement towards European integration.
This report examines the origins and principles of the Marshall Plan and its relevance to the process of NATO enlargement -- a major thrust of the current drive toward European unity. |
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