HC Deb 19 April 1971 vol 815 cc812-4
42. Mr. Carter

asked the Prime Minister if he will now seek to make an official visit to France.

The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Anthony Royle)

I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend has no specific plans to do so at present.

Mr. Carter

I thank the Minister for that reply. I recognise that this is clearly a delicate matter, but would he nevertheless agree that a meeting between the Prime Minister and the President of France should take place before any decision about entry to the E.E.C. is taken, in order clearly to dramatise both the importance and the detail of Britain's application to join the E.E.C.?

Mr. Royle

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on 11th February that he has indicated to the French Prime Minister that he would be very welcome to come here whenever he is able to do so. There are no specific plans at the present time for my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to have discussions with the French President.

Mr. Biffen

During the absence of such an official plan, would my hon. Friend nevertheless arrange for the Prime Minister to send a telegram today to President Pompidou underlining categorically the assurance which was given from the Government Front Bench by him earlier this afternoon that the rôle of sterling was not a subject for negotiations at the Common Market at Brussels?

Mr. Royle

I do not think that such a telegram is necessary.

Mr. Raymond Fletcher

Quite apart from the question of the E.E.C., would not the hon. Gentleman agree that this is now the time for some sort of comparing of notes between the British and French Governments about a common approach to China, in view of the recent developments in that country?

Mr. Royle

I am very interested in the hon. Gentleman's question, but I hardly feel that it comes within the Question which has been put to me.

Mr. Marten

In view of the likelihood that the Common Market negotiations might break down, and the extreme importance of Anglo-French relations, as well as the great love which this country has for France, would my hon. Friend ask my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to get over to France as soon as he possibly can? We want to see Anglo-French relations maintain the high level at which they have always been kept.

Mr. Royle

I am not sure where my hon. Friend obtained the idea that the negotiations might break down. No great questions of principle remain between the six countries who are members of the E.E.C. and ourselves. What is important is that no one should build up into a crisis or a matter of principle what are primarily transitional problems.

Mr. Fernyhough

In reply to an earlier supplementary question, the hon. Gentleman said that the Prime Minister had extended a warm welcome to the President of France to pay an early visit to this country. Could he tell us what kind of reply he received?

Mr. Royle

I think the hon. Gentleman misunderstood me, or perhaps it was my fault. I said that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has indicated to the French Prime Minister—not the French President—that he would be welcome to come here if he is able to do so.

Mr. Arthur Lewis

The acting Prime Minister said a moment ago that nothing is likely to hold up negotiations to our getting into E.E.C. Has he not seen the Press today in which it is stated categorically that the French are demanding—not asking but demanding—that we shall reveal to them the secrets of our nuclear weapons which we get from America, and the transfer of which is banned under the McMahon Act, and that unless we give them that information they will not agree to negotiate on our entry into E.E.C.? Surely this is a matter which the Prime Minister ought to go to France to discuss with the Prime Minister of France and the President of France.

Mr. Royle

I am not responsible for what the Press writes. Am I now to expect that the hon. Gentleman has plans to become acting Leader of the Opposition?

Dame Irene Ward

Following my hon. Friend's statement that there is nothing outstanding between the other countries and ourselves in our application to enter the European Economic Community, may I ask him whether he realises that at the moment we are all very anxious about the fishing industry? Could he, therefore, as there seems to be a little time to spare in Question Time, ask the Leader of the House whether we could have a debate on the fishing industry?

Mr. Royle

The point I made was not that no matters were outstanding but that no great questions of principle remained in connection with the negotiations in Brussels.

With regard to the fishing industry, perhaps my hon. Friend missed my comments earlier this afternoon when I answered a Question on the specific subject of fishing and the fisheries regulation passed by the European Economic Community. As for a debate on the subject, that is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House.

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