§ 69. Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many copies of the booklet "Britain in the European Community: a Positive Approach", referred to in his answer of 9 February, Official Report, c. 997, were printed.
§ Mr. HurdTwenty thousand copies were printed in English, 7,500 in German, and 4,000 each in French, Italian and Dutch. The booklet is going well.
§ Mr. KnoxIs my right hon. Friend aware that some of us are rather disappointed that there is no reference in the booklet to Britain participating in the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS? Does he not believe that that would contribute to the unity of Europe and greatly benefit the British and other European economies?
§ Mr. HurdMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has just commented on that point. I should not like to add to what he said.
§ Mr. Ioan EvansRather than have a publication which simply gives the advantages of membership, would it not be better for the Government to provide an objective publication which catalogues both the advantages and disadvantages of membership of the Common Market? Will he consider the fact that, whereas the Government's publication refers to a fundamental reform of the CAP, the EC publications, which are also circulating in Britain, talk of the CAP being a cornerstone of the Market? Will the Government clarify the advantages of the CAP.
§ Mr. HurdThe hon. Gentleman has heard many times that we accept the principles of the CAP as set out in reasoned form in the Treaty of Rome, but we believe that the way in which it is operated at present is expensive and that if it continues in that form it will exhaust the resources of the Community. That is one reason why we are pressing hard for change.