The article, based on documents from the archives of the French Foreign Ministry, reconstructs the history of negotiations between the EEC and CMEA in 1973—1975. The emphasis is on exploring the motivations and positions of the EEC countries in responding to the 1973 Soviet initiative to establish contacts between the two organizations. Ultimately, the problem was that in the EEC, starting in 1974, the scope of trade relations with the countries of Eastern Europe was to move to the supranational level, while the community was expected to enter into agreements with individual countries of Eastern Europe. The idea of equal and institutional cooperation between the two organizations, which was actually proposed by Moscow, was rejected by the majority of EEC countries. This predetermined the specific position of the representatives of the EEC, who in 1973—1975 officially supported the idea of establishing contacts between organizations, since this was a logical manifestation of détente, but in fact they delayed the negotiation process. As a result, the first meeting between representatives of the Commission of the European Communities and the CMEA Secretariat, held on February 4—6, 1975, was unsuccessful.