HC Deb 24 January 1967 vol 739 cc1249-50
16. Mr. Peter Mills

asked the Minister of Technology what plans he has for further co-operation with European countries in research and development in technological industries.

Mr. Benn

My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, in their discussions with the Governments of the Six about our possible accession to the European Economic Community, are exploring the scope for increased technological collaboration within Europe and best way of doing it.

Mr. Mills

Is it not vital for our industries and their continual advancement that this co-operation should take place and, more than that, that it is a sort of preparation for our entry into the Common Market? Will the Minister therefore redouble his efforts for his Ministry to see that this co-operation becomes a reality?

Mr. Benn

As the hon. Member knows, a number of collaborative efforts are already operating between firms in this country and firms on the Continent. There are also certain inter-Governmental collaborative efforts. When I was in Bonn recently talking to Herr Stoltenberg, the Minister for Scientific Research, I discussed with him another aspect of this problem, namely, the possibility of getting computer standardisation so as to make possible a further strengthening of the European computer industry. I think that in these ways the objectives of European industrial strength will be met.

Mr. David Price

Would not the Minister agree that the prospects of purely technological collaboration are limited unless we get right the commercial, economic and political infrastructure as proposed in the Treaty of Rome?

Mr. Benn

It certainly has been the experience of my Department, having been set up as a Ministry of Technology, that in two years it has developed into a Ministry of Industry. I suspect that Europe in a sense requires a Ministry of Technology or some equivalent organisation. In so far as that is what the hon. Member is suggesting, I greatly welcome it.