Helsinki Agreement (Hansard, 28 January 1976)

§ 7. Mr. James Lamond
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures the Government have taken as a result of the signing of the Final Act in Helsinki on 1st August 1975.

§ 32. Mr. Kershaw
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps Her Majesty's Government have taken to implement the Helsinki Agreement of August 1975.

Mr. James Callaghan
The Government are in active consultation with other 406 European countries about implementing the promises of the Final Act. We have taken up with the Soviet Union the question of working conditions for journalists, and we have good prospects for success. On the multilateral plane, we have been active in the notification of military manœuvres.

§ Mr. Lamond
That is a very good answer. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that there is co-operation between his Department and the Home Office about visas being issued to those who wish to come to this country to implement the agreement at Helsinki by discussing, for instance, world-wide disarmament and other matters that will be discussed at the York forum in March of this year?

Mr. Callaghan
That is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. Our visa procedures are under constant review and individual visa applications are considered on their merits. We shall welcome those who come to forward the policy of détente, but not those who come for different purposes while appearing to sail under the same flag.

§ Mr. Kershaw
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that since the Helsinki Agreement there has been a considerable effort in the Russian and satellite Press calling for increased ideological orthodoxy and vigilance in order not to hoodwink the unfortunate citizens of those countries into believing that liberty and détente are breaking in, unlike the unfortunate understanding of the Secretary of State for Defence?

Mr. Callaghan
What is true is that the process of détente is not a benefit conferred by the West upon the Soviet Union but a recognition of the mutual destructive powers of the two world super-Powers. It is not a benefit but it is something of value to both sides. Détente between States does not lead to an armistice in the war of ideas. That war is being continually prosecuted. It is my belief that those of us who are democratic Socialists have more to offer than anyone else in answer to that challenge.

§ Mr. Luard
Did not the Soviet Union at the Helsinki Agreement secure to a large extent its side of the bargain—namely, some kind of ratification of the status quo in Europe? In return for 407 that ratification was it not felt that there would be greater freedom of movement and information between East and West Europe? Is it not time that we obtained more of our side of the bargain? Will my right hon. Friend consider calling regular meetings before the one that is scheduled next year so that public opinion in Europe may be mobilised on this issue? There is evidence that the Soviet authorities are to some extent sensitive to world-wide public opinion on matters of this kind.

Mr. Callaghan
I agree with my hon. Friend and disagree with the Leader of the Opposition when she says that the Soviet authorities are not responsive to public opinion. That is not my experience. I must say to my hon. Friend that we cannot expect dramatic changes overnight, and especially regarding those matters covered by Basket III. The Final Act was the beginning and not the end of the process.
The present position is that the Soviet authorities have agreed to our proposals for the introduction of a multiple exit/ re-entry visa régime. We granted such a visa to a Soviet correspondent in London. We have asked the Soviet Embassy to send in the passports of all resident Russian correspondents for similar amendments to be made to their visas. The Soviet authorities have now issued a number of multiple entry visas to British journalists in Moscow. This is a net gain. I hope that it will continue to be pursued, but I do not expect to change the world overnight.

§ Mr. Maudling
Will the right hon. Gentleman give the House the information in his possession about the measures taken by the Soviet co-signatories to the Final Act in Helsinki?

Mr. Callaghan
The Soviet co-signatories? The right hon. Gentleman will have to put down a Question, as I am not sure I fully understand it.

§ Mr. Maudling
What have the Russians done?

Mr. Callaghan
If the right hon. Gentleman had first asked "What have the Russians done?", it would have dawned on my simple mind.
In addition to what I have said about the journalists, which is a beginning—we should not pooh-pooh it; it would 408 have been impossible 10 years ago—the Russians have decided to notify us of military manoeuvres in Europe, in accordance with the Agreement. I do not think that they notified us of anything in Angola, but perhaps that is not within the principles of the Agreement. Certainly we should not write off this policy. If we do, there can be nothing but a return to tension and conflict. In the present state of the world and with so many unsolved problems, that would be a policy of despair. Therefore, we must work to make it succeed whilst keeping our eyes open all the time for the consequences.