HC Deb 17 April 1980 vol 982 cc1443-4
1. Mr. Donald Stewart

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to meet his European Economic Community counterparts.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Peter Walker)

When I attend the Agriculture Council on 21–23 April.

Mr. Stewart

While at that meeting, will the right hon. Gentleman avoid repeating his recent surrender, which added £40 million to the food bill of United Kingdom housewives? In view of his recent comments on energy policy, will he ensure—even if he does not accept from me that it is Scotland's oil—that at least it does not become Common Market oil?

Mr. Walker

The second question is clearly not my responsibility. I agree with the hon. Gentleman's basic view that North Sea oil is a British possession and should remain so. I have never expressed any other view. As regards the first question, I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman has been misled by the totally misleading utterances and views that were expressed by correspondents, who obviously did not understand what was being done.

Mr. Bruce-Gardyne

Is there not a problem about the arrangements that my right hon. Friend has recently negotiated with regard to the negative MCAs? Are they not bound to increase the scale of our contributions to the Community budget at a time when we are trying to get those contributions down?

Mr. Walker

No, Sir. One problem is that over the years during which negative MCAs operated so dramatically against us, our imports increased enormously. Our imports add a considerable amount to our contribution to the Community. I regret that during those years of negative MCAs, when there was such prejudice against British agriculture, our imports from the Community increased by £1,600 million.

Mr. Strang

Does the Minister accept that his attempt to impose even higher taxes on the imports of basic foods such as sugar, cheese and butter from the EEC represents a flagrant breach of the Government's overriding objective of holding down the prices of products such as milk and sugar which are in structural surplus, and which impose a heavy burden on the CAP and on this country?

Mr. Walker

I have seldom heard such nonsense on this subject. Under the previous Labour Government, taxes on food imports increased by 900 per cent. The present bogus pronouncements of Labour politicians are hard to take. All that I was talking about in those negotiations was that my predecessor had agreed to a regulation whereby Britain would be treated differently from most of the other countries in the Community. As a result of that technical difference, it pays Irish butter producers, for example, to send their butter to Northern Ireland and to collect a £50 a tonne advantage over British butter. Quite rightly, I am out to amend the technical defect that I inherited from my predecessor.

Mr. Strang

Will the right hon. Gentleman accept that he knows perfectly well that positive MCAs were applied for the first time only two weeks ago, and that, had he had his way in Brussels, these import taxes that were applied for the first time on imports of sugar and milk from Ireland and elsewhere would have been even higher?

Mr. Walker

There is a neutral zone before one moves from negative to positive MCAs. At present one set of figures applies to all EMS countries and a different set to us, which results in a trading perversion totally against Britain's interests. I am out to correct that.