European Economic Co-Operation

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 5 July 1948.

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Photo of Sir Barnett Stross Sir Barnett Stross , Stoke-on-Trent Hanley 12:00, 5 July 1948

I wonder if the hon. Gentleman will allow me to give him some examples? If he will look at the Agreements which Russia has made, since Marshall Aid was offered, with Roumania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and other countries, I think that he will find that they are as humane and as good as could possibly be effected. Obviously the Soviet Union today is not a great and wealthy country like the United States of America. She has not in any way attempted to do to countries on her borders what was done by Nazi Germany. I was also amazed to hear the hon. Member for Finsbury suggest that this Agreement had any semblance to the method which Nazi Germany used for Central Europe, because, in my view, nothing could be further from the truth.

Again, on the other hand, the Soviet Union exports raw materials to countries like Poland and Czechoslovakia and receives from them a proportion of manufactured goods made out of those raw materials, only to such a percentage as will guarantee leaving those countries with a steadily higher standard of life for themselves.