§ 45. Mr. Brockwayasked the Prime Minister what progress has been made in the negotiations for the calling of a Summit Conference.
§ 48. Mr. Zilliacusasked the Prime Minister whether, in order to make agreement possible at the forthcoming Summit Conference, he will now withdraw the condition officially laid down by Her Majesty's Government that united Germany must be free to enter the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Macmillan)I have nothing to add to the reply I gave on 5th November to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Swingler).
§ Mr. BrockwayDoes the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that during the election great hopes were fostered by his anticipations of an early Summit meeting? Does he realise that there is now grave concern because of the evident delays. Will he do everything in his power to prevent obstruction and any further delay in this hope for peace?
§ The Prime MinisterI have always made it quite clear that I was in favour of as early a meeting as practicable. In a very few weeks we are having a meeting of the Western Summit Powers, and I hope that that will lead to some more definite proposal.
§ Mr. ZilliacusAs the reply to which the Prime Minister referred was not concerned with the question of Germany and N.A.T.O., will he now state whether the Government are prepared to abandon the condition that a united Germany should be free to join N.A.T.O., since this has proved to be an insuperable obstacle to the reaching of any agreement upon the question of Germany?
§ The Prime MinisterWe continue to hold the view that a freely elected Government of a reunified Germany should be free to choose their own foreign policy and alliances.
§ Mr. GaitskellIn view of the fact that during the election the Prime Minister stated that the date of the Summit Conference would be settled in the next few days, can he now say whether it is likely to take place before, say, next April?
§ The Prime MinisterWe discussed this question in the debate. All I can say is that I very much hope that we shall have an early date. The most important thing besides that date is the maintenance of the momentum. I feel that to some extent this is the view of Mr. Khrushchev, which we should take most carefully into consideration. The visit which I hope he will make to Paris will be a useful preliminary to the final settlement of the date of the Summit Meeting.
§ Mr. BevanIn order for me to be able to understand the Prime Minister's references to these matters in the future, will he give the House the definition of what he means by "in the next few days"?
§ The Prime MinisterI very much hoped that it would be within the next few days—and I had reason for hoping, as I explained in the debate. I think that both parties agree that we want to do two things. First, we want to get a meeting as soon as possible, and we shall continue to press for that. I understand that that is the view of the President of 201 the United States. Secondly, we especially want to ensure that if there is any inevitable delay, the general system of visits and discussions between East and West should continue. That is an important part of the détente which has undoubtedly taken place in recent months.
§ Mr. GaitskellThe Prime Minister said that it all depended on Mr. Khrushchev. Is it not a fact that Mr. Khrushchev long ago expressed his desire for an early Summit Conference?
§ The Prime MinisterI did not say that it all depended on Mr. Khrushchev. I said that I shared the views that he expressed, that we should have the conference as soon as possible.