HC Deb 24 January 1962 vol 652 cc193-5
29. Mr. Oram

asked the Lord Privy Seal, in the light of his discussions so far with the European Economic Community, and in view of paragraph 13 of the White Paper setting out his statement at Paris on 10th October, 1961, which states that Great Britain's special problems can be dealt with by means of protocols and not by amendments to the Treaty of Rome, what protocols he has now proposed to that Treaty.

The Lord Privy Seal (Mr. Edward Heath)

As I said on 29th November, I cannot give fuller details of the Government's proposals on specific items than are set out in the White Paper.

Mr. Oram

Can the Lord Privy Seal say whether he is still of the opinion that British interests can be safeguarded by means of protocols, and, if that is so, does he recognise the danger that safeguards provided by protocols may be of limited duration whereas our obligations under the Treaty would be permanent? How does he propose to avoid that danger?

Mr. Heath

I think the hon. Member will appreciate that it is necessary first of all to come to arrangements about a particular item before one can draw up the protocol itself. Whether the arrangements are permanent or temporary depends upon the content of the protocol. If the hon. Gentleman examines those which already exist under the Treaty of Rome, he will see that some of them are without definite duration.

Mr. Shinwell

If there is more information contained in the protocols which have been proposed and which apparently has been made available to the members of the Six, is there any reason why this House should not be informed?

Mr. Heath

I was not suggesting that there is more information about the existing protocols than has already been made available. What I was suggesting was that if the hon. Member were to study the existing protocols he would see that some of them are of indefinite duration. He was suggesting that they were of only limited duration. That is not the case.

Mr. Shinwell

The right hon. Gentleman did say in reply to my hon. Friend's Question that he could not furnish more information than that contained in the White Paper. Does that mean that there is no more information or that the information is not to be furnished to this House?

Mr. Heath

No, I have already explained to the House in the course of these negotiations, in which various proposals obviously have been exchanged from time to time and commented upon by those taking part, that it is not the custom to make information available till one reaches the stage where one can place it all before the House.