§ 46. Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet his EEC colleagues; and if he will make a statement.
51. Mr. Alan Lee Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the next meeting of the EEC Foreign Ministers Council to take place.
§ 53. Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to attend a meeting of the Council of the EEC.
§ Mr. SkinnerWill my right hon. Friend tell the Common Market leaders in this run-up period to these "phoney" direct elections, which are supposed to take place next year, that there is another softening-up process beginning in the use of slush fund moneys in the Common Market to attract political activists and rank-and-file members from all political parties in this country with the offer of free holidays to the Common Market on supposed fact-finding visits? Is it not remarkable that among all the talk of economy in this country there is never any shortage of money for Common Market brainwashing?
§ Dr. OwenI hope that my hon. Friend will accept one of the invitations that have been sent out. If he has not had an invitation, I shall try to exercise whatever influence I have.
§ Mr. SkinnerSome people have integrity.
§ Mr. SkinnerI am not going on the "gravy train."
§ Dr. OwenIt is an opportunity for a two-way exchange of views. If my hon. Friend, with his well-known views, goes to the EEC, he may win some converts.
Mr. WilliamsWill my right hon. Friend confirm whether, at the next political co-operation meeting or a subsequent meeting, consideration will be given to co-ordination of European policy in respect of the worrying situation in the Horn of Africa?
§ Dr. OwenYes, Sir; this matter is discussed in political co-operation meetings. There has recently been a tendency to hold political co-operation meetings, if not formally at least informally, at every meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers. This is a welcome development. The subject has been discussed in the past, and I am sure that it will be discussed fairly soon.
§ Mr. SpearingIn view of the increasing importance of world trade, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether, when he next meets his colleagues in the Council of Ministers, he will tell them that there are an increasing number of people in this country who view the EEC's world trading 1371 practices as similar to those adopted by the European trading States before 1914, particularly in dumping surpluses of grain, sugar and milk products irresponsibly on the world market? Does he agree that these practices are not international in the sense in which that word has always been understood in this House and in this country?
§ Dr. OwenOur general aim on the common agricultural policy is progressively to reduce real support prices in respect of those needed by efficient producers to bring about a better balance of supply and demand. We would like to see an even tougher approach than the Commission has proposed for products in structural surplus, particularly milk.
§ Mrs. Winifred EwingWill the right hon. Gentleman give the House an assurance that in any fishing negotiations with third countries the 50 miles around our shores will not be used as a bargaining tool?
§ Dr. OwenThe hon. Lady can be assured that we will uphold the interests of the fishing industry. We have never seen fit to trade this off in relation to any other EEC issues. We have treated the matter on its merits and have held to our position. We shall continue to do so.
§ Sir D. Walker-SmithWill the right hon. Gentleman use the occasion of this meeting to seek to secure from the Council of Ministers positive and unanimous action to secure provision, in the renegotiation of the Lomé Convention, of a condition making the receipt of economic aid conditional on the observance of the fundamental human rights enshrined in articles 3 to 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
§ Dr. OwenI have long made clear to the House that that is the objective of Her Majesty's Government. We may have some difficulty in persuading all our Community partners, but it is an anomalous situation, to say the least, and very disadvantageous for the Community that there is no legal way to end aid to a country that may have committed flagrant abuses of human rights. All we are saying is that if the Community were to act in unanimity, it should be able to review a commitment entered into under the Convention. That should be one of the objectives in the renegotiation of the Lomé Convention.
§ Mr. FernyhoughWhen my right hon. Friend attends this meeting, will he remind his European colleagues that since we joined the EEC our trade deficit has grown to over £10,000 million, which is equivalent to what we have had to borrow from the World Bank? Is it not time that the Community began to live up to what its members told us would happen to our economy if only we joined?
§ Dr. OwenWe are concerned at the relative contribution that we pay in comparison with other Community countries, particularly when taken against our relative wealth. One way of achieving this is to improve our own competitiveness and sell more. We need to examine some of the financial arrangements that bear very heavily on this country.
§ Mr. HurdWill the right hon. Gentleman say something about the Community's attitude on Turkey, which is now becoming increasingly important? In particular, what is the view of Her Majesty's Government and our partners about the supply of arms to Turkey by the United States and her European allies, including ourselves?
§ Dr. OwenTurkey is a member of NATO and as such has to be considered in a special category, but I think that there are concerns—this has certainly influenced arms policy—that Turkey has had difficult relations with another associate in NATO, and in particular there is the problem of Cyprus. I think that we should take these issues on their merits. We should look at Turkey as a member of the Alliance and consider what are its genuine defence needs as a part of that Alliance. Too great a linkage of these issues would be dangerous, but I am not saying that we can totally ignore some of these other political factors.