§ 42. Mr. Zilliacusasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what decision was taken at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Conference relating to the entry of a united Germany into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and negotiations on the Rapacki Plan as part of a policy of disengagement in Europe.
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydNo new decisions were taken on either of these matters.
§ Mr. ZilliacusWould it not be desirable to take a new decision about Germany in relation to an all-European Treaty? Is it not a fact that the policy which has been pursued since 1943 of insisting that a united Germany should be free to enter N.A.T.O. has proved an absolute bar to agreement with the Soviet Union, and will not we modify our position?
§ Mr. LloydI think that the alternative proposition, which is a reunited neutralised Germany, would pose much greater problems for the Western world.
§ Mr. HealeyCan the Foreign Secretary say whether he protested to the American Secretary of State and to the N.A.T.O. Council about the American Government jumping the gun on this issue on which N.A.T.O. itself so far, according to the Foreign Secretary, has still not made up its mind?
§ Mr. LloydCertainly not. Nor do I suggest that N.A.T.O. has not made up its mind. What I have said to the hon. Gentleman is that we have not yet decided what alternative proposals might be put forward.
§ 43. Mr. Zilliacusasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proposals the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Conference decided upon or approved for submission to the Summit Conference on the abolition of nuclear tests, disarmament and the lessening of tension in Europe and the Middle East; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydThe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Foreign Ministers had a full discussion about the kind of proposals which might be considered at a summit Meeting. Proposals to be put forward at such a Conference are being prepared in the Permanent Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and those who are engaged in this work will, of course, be guided by the views expressed at the Copenhagen meeting.
§ Mr. ZilliacusWould the right hon. and learned Gentleman bear in mind that, in preparing the final position on this matter, the United States appears to be coming round to the idea of an agreement on tests, apart from a general agreement regarding disarmament, and also bear in mind the accumulating evidence of the danger to health caused by continuing tests?
§ Mr. LloydI will certainly bear in mind all relevant factors, without admitting that either of the hon. Gentleman's propositions is accurate or relevant.
§ Mr. PagetMay we take it that in the preparations for this conference and the Government's proposals they are not worried about the prospect of anything which they propose being accepted?
§ Mr. LloydI assure the hon. and learned Gentleman, if I understand the point of his supplementary question, that we shall only put forward proposals which we should like to be accepted.