BRUSSELS Decision Time for EC

The 12-nation European Community, established in 1957 as a purely economic entity, is entering the homestretch of its race to mold itself into a diplomatic force as well. The EC foreign ministers will meet in Brussels next Monday to try to narrow some wide differences over the degree of sovereignty the 12 nations are willing to yield to the EC in the areas of foreign and security policy.

Many EC countries want to establish procedures for developing a common European foreign policy, and France and Germany have even proposed a European army. Britain is balking at both initiatives. The 12 EC heads of government will meet in the Dutch city of Maastricht on Dec. 9 and 10 to make the final decisions, and the foreign ministers will meet only once more after Monday to prepare for the summit.

“If we do not do it this time, if the agreement is made on too low a level, then we will have gone in the wrong direction,” EC President Jacques Delors said recently. “Maastricht is a challenge, and I will judge in Maastricht if the 12 are really up to it.”