§ The Prime MinisterI have just been to Belgium for the European Council meeting on 12th and 13th July. I have no plans to go there again in the immediate future.
§ Mr. SteenDoes the Prime Minister agree that although much of Belgium is below sea level it is morally and politically above this country in that it recognises the extent of its social problems and the importance of giving unemployed school leavers the opportunity to create their own work for the benefit of the community and others, rather than letting them hang around on street corners with nothing to do but draw the dole? In order to re-establish the detente with the Opposition, will the Prime Minister lean on the Chief Patronage Secretary in order to expedite the passage through this House of my Bill, aimed at restoring dignity to the unemployed, and in order to give them the opportunity to make Britain great again?
§ The Prime MinisterI have very great respect for the people of Belgium but I do not think that they would claim to be morally or politically superior to us if they looked at some of the problems of their own country. I shall not go into that today.
As for the position of young people, I listened to the answers given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment a moment ago. Everyone agrees about that. I do not think that in that respect Belgium holds much comfort for us, because I notice that the seasonally-adjusted percentage rate of unemployment for Belgium is 8.8 per cent.—there must be rather a lot of street corners in Belgium where that is happening—whereas our unemployment rate has not, fortunately, yet reached that. I hope it never will. I notice, finally, that the hon. Gentleman, in pursuit of his aims, is still pressing us for more public expenditure, at a time when I get points put by every one of his hon. Friends that I reduce it.
§ Mrs. Winifred EwingIn view of the talks being conducted in Brussels on the fishing industry, will the Prime Minister agree to give top priority to the present plight of this industry? Is the Prime Minister listening to the voices of the official organisations within the fishing industry, in their demand for a 50-mile exclusive limit, or has he turned a deaf ear to this legitimate and reasonable claim?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Lady is aware that the matter is being discussed in Brussels today. I have a telegram from a number of fishermen protesting at the fact that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has to return to this country today and leave these discussions. I think that the responsibility for that is firmly placed on the Opposition. The Foreign Secretary has been placed in an absurd position. I tell the hon. Lady that I do not think that this will be decisive. As she knows, the interim arrangements last until 1982, and I have every confidence that we shall be able to renegotiate something arising out of the 200-mile limit.
§ Mr. DalyellWithout nagging the Prime Minister, may I ask whether, in Brussels, he will consider the vexed question of the siting of the nomadic European Assembly which, alas, is one of his burdens?
§ The Prime MinisterI said the other day that I was grateful that it was not my responsibility. Of course, we have a partial responsibility for the siting of the European Assembly. I would much prefer to see it established in one capital. At the present time, however, I must tell my hon. Friend that I am not willing to recommend the expenditure of more money in order to achieve that.