HC Deb 11 July 1979 vol 970 cc460-3
39. Mr. McNamara

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will make a further statement on the renegotiation of the Lomé Convention and the role being played by Her Majesty's Government.

41. Mr. Guy Barnett

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement about the negotiations to renew the Lomé Convention agreement.

43. Mr. Spearing

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the progress of negotiation of the Lomé Convention.

44. Mrs. Dunwoody

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the outcome of the talks between the ACP countries and the EEC on the successor convention to Lomé.

Mr. Hurd

The text of a new and improved convention was substantially agreed at a ministerial negotiating conference in Brussels from 25 to 27 June. We now await the final decision of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States concerned. On the content of the new convention, I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr. Whitney) on 29 June.

Mr. McNamara

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that one reason for the delay in acceptance by the ACP countries is their profound regret at the niggardly contributions that have been made to the expansion of the Lomé Convention? Will he and his ministerial colleagues be reconsidering some of the provisions that they have made in the light of the great increase in oil prices and the disastrous effect that that will have on some ACP countries?

Mr. Hurd

No. The financial package put forward by the Community updated the aid figure in the first convention by allowing for price increases since then, and it also added to that. In all the circumstances, it was a reasonable proposition.

Mr. Barnett

Does the Minister recognise that the stance of the British Government in these negotiations was foot dragging? The British Government were one of the hard-line Governments in these negotiations. Does he also recognise the degree to which developing countries suffer as a result of the operation of the CAP? What contribution will the Government make in the negotiations to ensure a much greater access of primary products into Europe, particularly beef and minerals?

Mr. Hurd

I do not agree with the hon. Member's criticism. In the new convention, for the first time there is help to mineral producers whose production is interrupted. For the first time there is a clause about investment protection. Aid is increased and there are new commodities in the STABEX scheme, including rubber, and there is better access to the EEC for certain important Commonwealth commodities, such as beef and rum.

Mr. Spearing

Will the Minister confirm that there are related but distinct negotiations concerning the 1.3 million tonnes of Commonwealth sugar which are at present imported under the ACP arrangement? Will he tell us the date on which the negotiations or renegotiations will begin? Also, will he recall to the French members of the EEC Council that under the Departments Outre Mer arrangements that they made for Ascension, Martinique and Reunion the cane sugar from these colonies is counted as part of that of metropolitan France? Should not the same arrangement apply to ACP countries?

Mr. Hurd

The hon. Member knows that the sugar arrangements are quite separate from the convention that I have mentioned, and they run on in relation to quantity well beyond the date of expiry of the existing convention. I should like notice of his specific second point.

Mrs. Dunwoody

Is the Minister aware that the rum and banana protocols are very important, and there is clear evidence that the ACP countries are not content with the arrangements that have been agreed or with the advances that have been made? Why have they gone back to the ACP council to get its agreement if the arrangements are as marvellous as the Minister says?

Mr. Hurd

I am not saying the arrangements are marvellous. They are the results of very tough negotiations, and obviously the ACP countries wanted more. My point—and it applies particularly to rum—is that, subject by subject, this new convention is an improvement from the point of view of both the ACP and the EEC.

Sir Derek Walker-Smith

Can my hon. Friend say whether any further consideration is being given or is proposed to be given to the incorporation into the renegotiated Lomé Convention of a reciprocal undertaking to observe fundamental human rights, particularly those expressed in articles I to XIV of the universal declaration?

Mr. Hurd

At the last meeting the Community tabled a specific reference of this kind, but it was vehemently rejected by the ACP countries as out of place in an economic convention. That is a pity. But we should not confuse the shadow with the substance. The substance is that the Community should be willing and able to ensure that its aid is not given in circumstances in which it injures the real interests of the people in the recipient countries, and the Council of Ministers has agreed to consider how this should be achieved.

Mr. Hooley

Is the Minister saying that the package on the table is on a take-it-or-leave-it basis? Is there not any opportunity for the ACP countries to make further representations or further claims in relation to this treaty?

Mr. Hurd

The draft convention is the result of many weeks of long negotiation, including an all-night session at the end. After this was over the Community made it clear that it had reached the end of its negotiating position. We are now waiting to hear from the ACP countries whether they accept the convention with the improvements that I have mentioned. I very much hope that they will do so.

Mr. Emery

Does my hon. Friend agree that it ill behoves Labour Members to urge a further increase in products coming into Europe when they had five years to do that and failed? Will the Minister take account of the serious point that many of the ACP countries suggest in their domestic press that the actual money terms of the new arrangement represent major cuts compared with what was previously allowed? This is untrue, and it is important that our Government and European Governments get this message across to those nations.

Mr. Hurd

I quite agree. I have tried to do that today. The financial part of these new arrangements is an improvement in real terms. These arrangements, if they are accepted, are a step—I do not put it more strongly than that—towards making the European Community a more open and outward-looking institution.