BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER (Hansard, 27 January 1976)

§ Q4. Mr. Marten
asked the Prime Minister when he next proposes to meet the Belgian Prime Minister.

§ The Prime Minister
I have at present no plans to meet M. Tindemans before the next meeting of the European Council on 1st and 2nd April, Sir.

§ Mr. Marten
Has the Prime Minister read Mr. Tindemans' report and does he recall the reference to direct elections to the European Parliament? Does he agree that before detailed discusssions on this subject are carried very much further the United Kingdom Parliament should be told what powers the European Parliament will have? How can we possibly judge whether it is right or wrong to have direct elections until we know precisely what the powers are? Are we not putting the cart before the horse? Therefore, may we have an assurance that Parliament will be told?

§ The Prime Minister
The issue of direct elections was settled by the referendum—[HON. MEMBERS: "No".] The referendum ratified the Treaty of Accession, with the changes that we succeeded in obtaining in our renegotiations, and the matter is included in the Treaty of Rome. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has told the House what we intend to do about direct elections. We do not intend to proceed with undue haste, but we are not dragging our feet. We feel it right first to consult the principal parliamentary parties in this 245 country, as well as the party organisations outside with experience of dealing with some of the technical problems. In other words, we envisage a procedure not unlike that followed in connection with other election proposals.
The idea is that we shall invite parties represented here and parties outside, through their national organisations, to give their views to the Government. We then propose to produce a discussion document in the form of a White, or Green Paper containing all the questions raised, so that all hon. Members and the public can express their views. I agree with the hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Marten) that before any decisions are taken they should be the subject of debate by Parliament.

§ Mr. Rose
Does my right hon. Friend agree that accession implies that we accept the principle of direct elections based on the national method of member countries? Does he not also think it rather strange that those who criticise bureaucracy in Brussels should be against the democratic principle of direct elections? Does he not further agree that two years is quite sufficient, in view of our experience in Northern Ireland and with the referendum, to prepare a suitable method of direct elections?

§ The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend has raised a number of questions which go rather wider than I should wish on the implication of views expressed by hon. Members. I have already stated the position on the principle of direct elections. It is, however, extremely important that we get this matter right and I do not believe that any party, the Government, Opposition or anybody else, can claim to know all the answers. That is why we shall welcome consultation and advice, written or oral, from all parties here and from party organisations outside. We shall then prepare a document setting out the main issues that have to be settled, and I hope that it will be debated by the House.

§ Mr. Thorpe
Has the Prime Minister seen the reported disagreement of his right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary with the two-tier system in Europe suggested by Mr. Tindemans? Does he believe that it would be a bad thing for the Community? Is he aware that there is no need for this system in Great Britain 246 if we move towards integration economically and politically, at the same pace as all our partners?

§ The Prime Minister
Of course I support what my right hon. Friend said about the two-tier system. This proposal, which has been aired before, is not one that the Government will support. The real answer is not, as the right hon. Member for Devon, North (Mr. Thorpe) says, to move towards greater integration. We have to catch up the backlog of past events under successive Governments—I am not making a party point—in investment and other matters to ensure that we are highly competitive. This is the task to which the counter-inflation policy, which has now been accepted by the whole country, is working.

§ Mr. Spearing
My right hon. Friend has said that he thinks that the issue of direct elections has been settled by the referendum. Does he not recall that the 12-page red, white and blue pamphlet put into every letter box during the referendum campaign contained no reference to what the Government are now maintaining is an obligation? As this did not appear in any of those leaflets, on what basis does my right hon. Friend make his claim?

§ The Prime Minister
The leaflet did not contain the whole text of the Treaty of Rome or the Treaty of Accession. It would have been a very long document if it had. My hon. Friend is being very churlish about the quality of speeches by his right hon. and hon. Friends, hon. Members opposite and himself if he suggests that this issue was never adequately raised in the campaign. It certainly was.