HC Deb 14 February 1979 vol 962 cc1133-4
48. Mr. Frank Allaun

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will resist proposals for the EEC to develop a military arm.

Mr. Judd

No such proposals are under consideration in the Community or among the Nine. Nor would we favour them if they were. For the foreseeable future the defence of Europe will remain a matter for NATO.

Mr. Allaun

Will the Minister refuse to make the Common Market an economic base for a military anti-Soviet pact, which the Bow Group is now pressing for, and which some of us warned against years ago? Instead, will he help to end the division between the EEC and COMECON?

Mr. Judd

I am sure that my hon. Friend knows of the discussions and negotiations on the relationships between the EEC and COMECON which have been under way now for some time. As for defence, I repeat that the Government believe that the Atlantic dimension is absolutely indispensable to the defence and security of this country. We therefore put all our approach to defence squarely on the principle of membership of NATO.

Mr. Warren

Will the Minister use the forum of the Council of Ministers to encourage France to rejoin NATO as a full member?

Mr. Judd

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the Nine, as distinct from the Community. We do not see the forum of political co-operation in the Nine as the right place to advance this matter, because there are members of the Nine who are not members of NATO. But as friends and allies on a bilateral basis, this is a subject that we shall always keep under review.

Mr. William Hamilton

Is it not the case that the Nine are seeking to establish and improve relationships with China? Can my hon. Friend confirm that, in the Council of Ministers, the Nine agree with the concept of the British sale of Harriers to China?

Mr. Judd

We have already dealt this afternoon with the subject of that sale. I am glad to say that the Community is putting a great deal of work into economic relations with China.

Mr. Eldon Griffiths

Since the defence of Europe cannot be separated from the defence of areas that are vital to Europe, will the Minister, with his colleagues in the Community, address himself to the consequences of the collapse of CENTO? Will he take the opportunity of his visit next week to the Gulf personally to visit the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and discuss with him the future position of Iran within CENTO, which I understand would be welcome to the present authorities in Iran?

Mr. Judd

We are straying a long way from the life of the Community, but I shall not be able to visit the Ayatollah Khomeini during my time in the Gulf next week. I am sorry to disappoint the hon. Gentleman on that score. However, we recognise the implications for us of what has happened in Iran. That is why we had the meeting to which I have referred, on Monday this week, to discuss the implications. We shall keep the matter under active and constant review.