HC Deb 21 June 1973 vol 858 cc858-9
13. Mr. Deakins

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further proposals he intends to make for reform of the EEC common agricultural policy.

Mr. Godber

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Feltham (Mr. Russell Kerr) on 17th May.—[Vol. 856, c. 1680–81.]

Mr. Deakins

In view of the Prime Minister's statement early this week that in the autumn there would be a complete review of the common agricultural policy, will the right hon. Gentleman say whether he sticks to his point of view that the basic principles of the CAP are sacrosanct?

Mr. Godber

I accept, in the same way as the Leader of the Opposition did, that the basic principles of the CAP had to be accepted as part of our accession agreement. I have never varied from that position, but that does not mean that there cannot be some significant changes in the way in which the CAP is operated, and I have indicated in othe House various ways in which that could be done which would be helpful to all consumers in the Community, and to producers.

Mr. Powell

Will my right hon. Friend lay before Parliament, in the form of a Green Paper if not a White Paper, the general outline of the proposals that he proposes to make?

Mr. Godber

I should like to consider the point made by my right hon. Friend. The proposals for reform of the CAP will come from the Commission. We are giving our own thoughts at all levels to the Commission, and in the Council of Ministers generally, over a period of time. We are not tabling specific papers to the Commission, but we shall be playing an active part in the discussions in relation to this matter, and on many occasions in the Council of Ministers I have indicated our line of thinking. It is not the case that we shall be putting forward formal documents in the sense that my right hon. Friend indicates.

Mr. McBride

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, with six of my hon. Friends, I visited Brussels last week? Having gone there with a feeling of apprehension, I detected a sense of deep alarm. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the No. 2 British official there said that the CAP was not working? In view of the contribution that this country makes to the budget of the EEC, and in view of the inefficiency of this policy and its cost, the right hon. Gentleman should condemn it and seek to renegotiate it right away.

Mr. Godber

I do not accept that it is not working, and I am surprised that any official should have said this. It is working, and working in a way which, when we entered, we accepted that it would work. The negotiations that we have had this year have helped us to point out to the Community—and to bring about in the Community—certain changes which I think are helpful. When the hon. Gentleman is next over there, I hope that he will look me up, particularly in the small hours of the morning, when we are sitting, so that we can discuss these matters.

Mr. Marten

While my right hon. Friend is considering whether to publish a Green Paper or a White Paper, will he publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of those basic principles that he feels he has to keep in the common agricultural policy, because this is a little obscure to some of us?

Mr. Godber

I suggest that these matters were fully dealt with during the debates on accession. There is nothing that I can add to these matters that would be served by publication in this form. There were the conditions which were clearly stated when we negotiated, which have been fully debated here many times, and there is no point, at this stage, in my adding to what has been said.