§ 16. Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will enter into discussions with other members of the North Atlantic Alliance with a view to making it possible for East German citizens to travel to the West in compassionate cases without recourse to the West Berlin Travel Office.
§ Mr. PadleyThe whole question of travel by East Germans to Western countries is kept under constant review in the North Atlantic Council. Following recent discussions by the Council the Allied Travel Office in Berlin issued the following statement on 10th December:
In view of the great number of applications by pensioners from the Soviet Zone, the competent authorities have decided to introduce a simplified procedure to facilitate the entry of per sioners into North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries. This procedure fully conforms to the present rules for the entry of Germans from the Soviet Zone into North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries. Pensioners who wish to travel to Western countries are asked to apply for visas at the competent Visa Office of the State they propose to 898 visit. They are reminded that each country has differing requirements and therefore applicants should contact the appropriate national authorities concerned for detailed information before submitting an application.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Other Departments have made shorter Answers than that.
§ Mr. NewensWhile thanking my hon. Friend for that reply, which goes some way—[HON. MEMBERS: "A long way."] —to meet some of the difficulties which my constituent experienced, may I ask him whether he agrees that, in the case which I referred to the Foreign Office, people in the Eastern Zone were prevented from visiting the West, not by the East German Government, bat by these very antiquated and now out-of-date regulations?
§ Mr. PadleyNo, I cannot accept that.
Perhaps I might say, with respect, that it was impossible to answer my hon. Friend's Question, except by making a direct quotation from the document which was agreed by Her Majesty's Government with her allies. May I say to my hon. Friend that the main obstacle to pensioners or anyone else leaving East Germany consists in the nature of the East German régime and not in any regulations relating to visas.