HC Deb 18 December 1974 vol 883 cc1562-3
12. Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further consultations he has had with EEC Ministers in connection with the Middle East; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. James Callaghan

The Foreign Ministers of the Nine continue to keep various aspects of the Middle East situation under review. Our endeavour is to concert a common attitude, but we are not always successful.

Mr. Huckfield

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Since the outcome of the Martinique talks between President Ford and President Giscard d'Estaing have not exactly been too successful with regard to the Middle East, and since my right hon. Friend is, I accept, very much in favour of preserving a common European approach on the Middle East, will he now do all within his power to ensure a common European line in defence of the right of the State of Israel to exist within secure boundaries?

Mr. Caliaghan

Yes, certainly. I do not think that is challenged by any member of the Nine. We are still basing ourselves on Resolutions 242 and 338. They continue to be the bedrock until further changes are made at the United Nations.

Mr. Grylls

Is the Foreign Secretary pressing the EEC to give further aid to relieve the plight of the Palestinian refugees in their camps, as has been done before? Are we pushing that forward?

Mr. Callaghan

I cannot recall a recent discussion on the subject of aid to the Palestinian refugees in particular, but the EEC has substantially increased its aid to the United Nations fund which was set up last April. However, I think that that is a separate issue.

Mr. Faulds

Since my right hon. Friend is a pragmatic and patriotic fellow, will he agree that we and our European allies are taking a much more realistic attitude towards energy problems than is the American State Department, and will he seek to avoid at all costs a confrontation in this matter with the oil-producing countries?

Mr. Callaghan

Although I have seen reports about the opinions of various people, it is not my understanding from my conversations with the United States Secretary of State that he in any way desires a confrontation with the Arab States, and neither is his policy based on that. It is based on an attempt, in which he has been successful so far—I shall certainly give him all the support which the British Government can give in the next steps—to try to achieve a just settlement in the Middle East.

Mr. Rippon

Will the Foreign Secretary give the House more information about the formation of the International Energy Agency, which is a good example of co-operation within the Community? Will he, perhaps, consider a White Paper or a statement on the subject, because, as I am sure he appreciates, this agency is more supranational in character than, for example, the European Community itself?

Mr. Callaghan

Yes, Sir, I shall consider that. It may be that the Secretary of State for Energy might provide it. I regret that France is not involved, because I think that we should be that much stronger if she were, but it is an excellent example of pooling of resources by the Western consuming nations in the event of any attempt to use the oil weapon. It means an abandonment of sovereignty, but I do not think that any hon. Member minds abandoning sovereignty if the benefits are worth it, and in the case of this agency they are.