"Don't Call Us . . ."

So formidable is the economic success of the Common Market that most of Europe's out nations are queuing up to get in.* Last week three neutrals--Austria, Switzerland and Sweden--met in the Swedish ski resort of Rattvik to discuss ways of becoming associated with the market without sacrificing their precious neutrality. The combined trade of the three with the market nations last year totaled $6,279,000,000, and all three fear that the market's common tariff barriers against the rest of the world will eventually freeze them out. At the same time, they fear the market's demand that members must give up national sovereignty in economic and eventually political matters; they want special terms that would preserve their national freedom of action.

Market members are in no mood to offer such concessions, have little sympathy for neutrality (although they draw a distinction between the neutrality of Austria, enforced by the 1955 peace treaty with Russia and the West, and the voluntary neutrality of Sweden and Switzerland). Common Market leaders feel that granting special concessions to the neutrals would be unfair to members who have made the full sacrifices demanded--and might tempt some member states to reduce their own market obligations in future. Another argument heard: Why grant association to the neutrals rather than to NATO partners such as the U.S. and Canada?

From Common Market headquarters letters went out to the neutrals. Gist: the Six will not even consider the new applications until negotiations over Britain's membership in the market are decided. British and Market delegates are still setting the ground rules for the formal bargaining sessions that are set to begin after Easter.

* Britain, Ireland and Denmark have applied for membership. Spain and Turkey have applied for "association," a special limited status, whose terms are to be negotiated separately in each case, which may be granted to nations whose wobbly economics or national obligations make full membership impractical. Greece has already been accepted as an associate member. Norway will apply either for membership or association. The U.S. is not seeking either full or associate membership, is instead trying to broaden reciprocal tariffs with the Six.

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