6. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what plans he has to achieve closer and more friendly relations with France during 1965.
§ 68. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps he is taking to improve Anglo-French relations.
§ 73. Mr. Benceasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress is being made in increasing co-operation with France.
§ Mr. M. StewartMy right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I look forward to discussing ways of improving relations with France when we meet General de Gaulle and his Ministers during our visit to Paris in April.
Mr. Gresham CookeWhen the right hon. Gentleman sees General de Gaulle, will he bear in mind that the important question between us and France is whether or not we should enter the Common Market? Will he tell his right hon. Friend to say to General de Gaulle that the Government are now willing to drop those very rigid requirements of the late Mr. Gaitskell relating to the freedom of our foreign policy and national planning and that we are now more flexible on those counts?
§ Mr. StewartAs my right hon. Friend told the House on 16th February, the position is that there is no reason to believe that the circumstances which led to the breakdown of the Brussels negotiations have changed. Given that situation, we want the best relations with France that we can get, but there are many other questions involved besides the Common Market.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs my right hon. Friend aware that the whole nation was very glad to learn at the weekend of the 908 practical examples of improved relations between this country and France as evidenced by the talks of my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister of Aviation with their counterparts in France? Can my right hon. Friend give an assurance that there will be further evidence of this kind of practical co-operation in the very near future?
§ Mr. StewartYes, Sir. There are good prospects for close Anglo-French co-operation in a number of fields, and we hope to see the number of those fields increase.
§ Mr. BenceCan my right hon. Friend give an assurance that as far forward as he can see the functional co-operation with France will have no deleterious effect on our co-operation with E.F.T.A.?
§ Mr. StewartIndeed. We do not want discussions with France to be to the prejudice of joint projects in which other European countries might be concerned.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonAre not General de Gaulle's ideas for Europe much larger than the Common Market, and should not our own be no less large?