§ 13. Mr. Martenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the consideration by the Council of Ministers of the EEC of the Arab-Israel conflict in the Middle East.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeAt the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Nine in Brussels on 16th March my colleagues and I exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East.
§ Mr. MartenNow that the Common Market, as the saying goes, can speak with one voice in foreign affairs, what is that one voice about the Middle East? If the voices are not all the same, what are the differences?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeEveryone is anxious to find a solution for the Middle East. If Europe has a contribution to make—I say "if", because this is not certain—we should concentrate on trying to be helpful. Therefore, we discussed the Middle East with the desire to be helpful if, on some future occasion, our intervention was requested.
§ Mr. KaufmanIs the Foreign Secretary aware that many people would prefer the Council of Ministers and the EEC not to involve themselves in this matter at all? However, while this is, on the one hand, a matter for the parties directly involved and, on the other, a matter for the United Nations, it is not a matter for the small, irrelevant group dominated by the spiteful and nasty French Government.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI can easily recognise one person who thinks that we in the Community should not try to be helpful. I do not share the hon. Gentleman's attitude. I should have thought that anyone who had the interests of the Middle East at heart would wish to be helpful, and it is possible that the European Economic Community can be so.
§ Dame Joan VickersWhen does the EEC intend to set up a Foreign Affairs secretariat?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThat has not yet been brought up again.
§ Mr. Frank AllaunDoes not the Foreign Secretary think that it would be really helpful if the countries in the EEC agreed to supply arms to neither side? The most specific influence other countries can have on the Middle East is for them to call a boycott of arms to either side, and the EEC might well provide a start in this direction.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI think that restraint is exercised by most European countries in relation to arms sales to the Middle East. It is certainly exercised by Britain. Various suggestions have been made—for example, that European countries might guarantee any settlement 423 that is made. We in the Community should give serious consideration to that. It cannot do any harm. It may do some good.