§ 8. Mr. Peter Archerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he anticipates further preparatory talks relating to the proposed European Security Conference; and if he will make a statement.
§ 34. Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statemen on the progress of the talks at Helsinki to prepare for the European Conference on Security and Co-operation.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeOn 15th January the preparatory talks for a Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe were resumed in Helsinki. Various proposals have now been tabled dealing with the agenda and the committees which will be needed to do the detailed work.
§ Mr. ArcherDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that the best hope of resolving future conflicts would be by achieving agreement on common standards in such matters as freedom of movement? Will he find ways of conveying to the Soviet Government that some of us who have long advocated a positive response to the Soviet initiative are very concerned about such cases as that of Lazar Liubarsky, who is about to be tried secretly simply for saying that people are entitled to make their home where their heart is?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeYes, Sir. I think that the time will come when we can make these points. However, at the moment we are concerned with getting an agenda and the essence of the agenda is that the items should be simple and that we should have an agenda which will not allow either the Soviet Union or the Western Powers to veto any particular subject.
§ Mr. SproatDoes my right hon. Friend feel that any advance has been made by the Soviet Union since the talks resumed about the freer movement of people, ideas and information between all European States? Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the proposals put forward 10 days or so ago by the Belgians, Italians and Danes represented the view both of NATO and the EEC?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThe answer to the last part of the question is "Yes". The proposals were put forward on behalf of NATO and the EEC. As for the movement of people, I have seen the tentative agenda and it appears that the matter would be satisfactorily covered.
§ Mr. MolloyWhen it arrives at his desk, will the right hon. Gentleman be 918 good enough to look at the document discussed in the Council of Europe on East/West relations, which I believe supports very much the almost bipartisan policy in this House on the problem of East/West relations?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeYes, Sir. I think that the House will be broadly agreed on how we should approach this matter. We want to identify certain areas of interest to the East and West to try to see whether we can explore and exploit them to common advantage. That has been our motive all the way through and that of the Alliance.
§ Sir Gilbert LongdenDoes my right hon. Friend's earlier answer mean that there is a real hope that NATO and the Community will speak with one voice throughout the conference?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeYes, Sir. They have so far.