European Communities (Developments)

Part of Bills Presented – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 January 1977.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Mr John Tomlinson Mr John Tomlinson , Meriden 12:00, 10 January 1977

I must say at the outset that I was surprised by the opening comments of the hon. Member for Derbyshire, West (Mr. Scott-Hopkins) about the quality of this debate. Inevitably, these six-monthly debates on the progress of the Community are lacking in cohesion and do not have a continuing theme because of the number of different issues covered. Nevertheless, it has been a very useful and informed debate on a wide range of subjects. Some contributions have been more informed and useful than others, but, despite the relatively small number of hon. Members participating, I think that it has been very useful indeed. I think that the clash with the plenary session of the European Parliament is unfortunate. Sometimes such clashes are inevitable, but I hope that the views expressed in the House today will be taken into account, and that in future such clashes may be minimised.

The right hon. Member for Knutsford (Mr. Davies), in opening for the Opposition, was excessively critical about what he regards as a lack of progress in political co-operation. He argued that there should be a more formal and structured back-up for the machinery of political co-operation. The question of a permanent political secretariat has been raised a number of times over the last few years. The British Government would prefer to have the experience of running the presidency in the next six months before deciding whether they think a permanent secretariat would help matters.

The right hon. Member for Knutsford raised specific points about Cyprus and Rhodesia. I assure the House that in the period of the British presidency the Government will take their responsibilities very seriously indeed. In political co-operation the Government will seek to develop and strengthen the process of political co-operation among the Nine, by which the nine member States increasingly speak with one voice on major foreign policy issues. The report stresses how important this has been in relation to members of the Community voting and speaking in the United Nations.

As the Heads of State and Government of the member States said after the European Council meeting in the Hague in November, this form of co-operation must lead to the search for a common external policy. Regular consultation will continue during the term of the United Kingdom presidency over a wide range of foreign policy issues, including those mentioned in Paragraphs 2 to 5 of the White Paper. I am confident that we shall register further progress during our presidency and successive presidencies.

Other points raised by the right hon. Member for Knutsford included the problems facing the textile industry arising out of the section of the report dealing with external trade. The Government are fully aware of the difficult situation of the British textile industry. The agreements concluded under the existing GATT Multi-Fibre Arrangement provided a considerable measure of protection for the industry, but the Government recognise that import penetration has continued to rise nevertheless. This factor has added to the industry's difficulties. The present arrangement expires at the end of this year and negotiations are already under way in the GATT Textiles Committee in Geneva for a successor agreement. The Community, and not the United Kingdom, is the signatory to the arrangement, and the British Government hope that the Community will secure changes in the agreement which will benefit our industry.

My hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. Gould) made an entertaining rather than illuminating speech. It was entertaining because of its style of presentation, but it was not enlightening because I have heard it all before. It belaboured the question of the trade deficit which, it is alleged, our membership of the EEC has created. I do not accept the economic arguments which he put forward. Just as my hon. Friend portrayed these arguments as being a fact, other people present them in a totally different way, and I accept the alternative hypothesis.

My hon. Friend the Member for Test quoted a report in Socialist Commentary of a speech by the Secretary of State at a fringe meeting of the Labour Party Conference. In this speech my right hon. Friend said that it was not his exclusive opinion that the economic balance of the Community was neutral. Having consulted the opinions of a whole range of economists, he concluded that the economic balance was neutral, and I accept that.

A number of hon. Members, including the hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Marten) discussed agriculture, and in particular the problems which we face in this respect. In relation to the CAP and the green pound I must state clearly what we want by way of reform. Our central aim is to secure the best use of resources so that the CAP provides effective support for the efficient producer without imposing excessive burdens on consumers or taxpayers.

Substantial progress has been made so far in improving the operation of the CAP, and progress is continuing. We obtained significant changes in the renegotiations and we have made further progress, for example, in restructuring the cereals support arrangements. The Council of Ministers has agreed on further work in other areas, including the dairy sector where proposals for restoring the balance of the market were considered last year, and they will be reviewed at further meetings of the Agriculture Ministers. On beef the Commission will submit a report on the respective merits of intervention and the premium system. Some progress has been made and there is no doubt of our serious intentions and the recognition by the Government of the need to protect our vital interests.