Council of Ministers (Hansard, 11 April 1973)

§ 12. Mr. Marten
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters are to be discussed at the next meeting of the EEC Council of Ministers which he will be attending.

§ 23. Mr. Deakins
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the agenda for the next meeting of the EEC Council of Ministers.

§ Mr. John Davies
In accordance with the arrangements announced on 13th March by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council, an estimate was placed in the Vote Office setting out the subject headings likely to come up for 1306 discussion in April.—[Vol. 852, c. 1115– 25.] The next such estimate will be lodged in the Vote Office towards the end of April.
An additional meeting of the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) is to take place in Luxembourg on 16th-17th April. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agricul-tere, Fisheries and Food expects to attend that meeting, which has been called primarily to continue the discussions on the Commission's proposals for increases in farm prices.

§ Mr. Marten
At the Foreign Affairs Council of Ministers meetings will Britain be putting forward for discussion the question of the Middle East? Is my right hon. Friend aware that this is one area where the Common Market should be able to speak with one voice if it is to be taken seriously? Will my right hon. Friend say what is the view of the Common Market collectively on the Middle East? Does it agree on it, or does it disagree? If it disagrees, what are the differences of opinion?

§ Mr. Davies
I have nothing new to say on the subject of the Community's views on the Middle East at this stage, although this, like other matters, is perfectly able to be raised at the quarterly meetings on political problems attended by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

§ Mr. Callaghan
Turning to a more domestic matter, have the Government considered putting on the agenda the subject of how best to deal with surplus commodities that may mount up in individual countries of the EEC? For example, would they consider putting on the agenda the possibility of distributing the butter that has mounted up at reduced prices to the old-age pensioners of the EEC countries?

§ Mr. Davies
I have no doubt that that issue, as indeed other similar issues, could well be discussed at the Council of Ministers' additional meeting to which I have referred, thus bringing together the Ministers of Agriculture. I am not able to say at this stage whether or not that will form part of the discussion next week.

§ Mr. Body
As we are back on butter again, does not my right hon. Friend agree that it is much more sensible to send this commodity to Moscow, where it can be eaten by humans, than for 1307 it to be disposed of as was the last butter mountain by being fed back to cows, which is not a sensible thing to do?

§ Mr. Davies
Most hon. Members would agree that this is a slippery subject, but for my part the real anxiety is to try to ensure that excessive stocks are not accumulated through the operation of the policy.

§ Dr. David Owen
If the Community is to develop a political identity would not the right hon. Gentleman consider that it might discuss the question of French nuclear testing and the fact that only one member of the Community is a non-signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and also of the Partial Test Ban Treaty, namely, France?

§ Mr. Davies
It is, generally speaking, the normal procedure that the agenda for the meeting to which I have referred dealing with political matters is subject to previous agreement between the various Governments concerned, and, of course, it would prove necessary to have the agreement of all the Governments in order to put such a matter on the agenda.