Fontainebleau Agreement (Hansard, 20 February 1985)

§ 85. Mrs. Clwyd
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what benefits have accrued to the United Kingdom as a result of the Fontainebleau agreement.

§ Mr. Rifkind
The following have accrued to the United Kingdom as a result of the Fontainebleau agreement: payment of our 1983 refund of £430 million; an abatement of £625 million for 1984; a lasting mechanism for the future which will require the United Kingdom to contribute only half what it would otherwise have had to pay to the Community budget; and an agreement on the control of Community spending, including agricultural spending.

§ Mrs. Clwyd
The Minister's reply is amazingly complacent, as his replies have been all afternoon. The Fontainebleau agreement was supposed to have ended the haggling, but, as the agriculture budget for 1985–86 is to increase by 6 per cent., the haggling will continue. How can the Minister claim that there is any such thing as budgetary discipline in the EEC?

§ Mr. Rifkind
My answer was not complacent. I gave a factual answer to a factual question. As a result of Fontainebleau, over £1,000 million has already been paid to the United Kingdom, quite apart from the additional advantages to which I have just referred. That was what the hon. Lady asked, and that was the answer that I gave. For the first time in its history the EEC has agreed to a tight procedure for the control of expenditure. As I mentioned earlier, the agricultural price proposals of the Commission have to be framed within that procedure, and we believe that this marks a new opportunity for the Community properly to control its expenditure.

§ Viscount Cranborne
Does my hon. Friend agree that the Fontainebleau agreement would have been even more effective if it had included certain quid pro quos, notably a freer market on matters affecting EEC trade, such as freer access by the British insurance industry to the German insurance market, which has so far been denied us?

§ Mr. Rifkind
That is indeed a great priority of the United Kingdom and something which the President of the Commission has said will be one of his priorities during his term of office. The Fontainebleau agreement was concerned with ending once and for all the budgetary imbalance problem that the United Kingdom faced. By an overwhelming majority, the House has welcomed that agreement.

§ Mr. Healey
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Are you aware that, through no fault of yours or of right hon. and hon. Members who are deeply concerned about the many vital issues that are raised during Foreign Office questions, once again the House has managed to cover only a tiny handful of the questions on the Order Paper before going on to European Community questions at 3.10 pm. Are you further aware that approaches were made some weeks ago through the usual channels to abolish the distinction between Foreign Office and Community questions or, at a minimum, to extend the time available for Foreign Office questions by five minutes, at the expense of Community questions? Can you use your good offices to ensure that there is rapid progress on this matter?

§ Mr. Latham
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Although I do not agree precisely with the proposal of the right hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey), there is widespread support for his general worry about the division between the 78 questions for the rest of the world and the 17 questions concerning EEC matters. The House has already agreed that questions relating to Overseas Development should be taken on a separate day. There might be a precedent there and I ask you seriously to consider this matter, as it worries many hon. Members.

§ Mr. Winnick
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. This matter has been raised on other occasions and you stated at the time that it should be pursued through the usual channels, but so far, as you know, there has been no solution. Is it not worrying that, for example, yesterday, those of us who joined a picket outside South Africa House—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I do not think that this is anything to do with me.

§ Mr. Winnick
I realise that what is happening in South Africa is of no interest to Tories, but those of us who are interested made it clear yesterday that, as the House was to have Foreign Office questions today, we would have an opportunity to try to catch your eye. In the event, it was not possible to raise the issue of the police action and repression that is taking place in South Africa on the few questions that were reached.

§ Mr. Anthony Beaumont-Dark
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I hope that you will ignore the request of the right hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey). Perhaps we need a special session of Common Market questions, but the idea that the needs of Guatemala and Nicaragua and all of those other places are more important than the nonsense that goes on in the Common Market is ridiculous. It is not that we have too many questions on the Common Market but that we have too few. I hope that you will see that we get more, not fewer.

§ Mr. Maclennan
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. While I recognise the division in the ranks of the Labour and of the Conservative parties on the Common Market, do you agree that, if this matter is suitable for decision through the usual channels, the participation of the alliance parties is extremely important and should be acknowledged?

§ Mr. Skinner
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I wonder whether you have noticed that, during the past 12 months or more, ever since the Common Market ran into extreme financial difficulties, almost 1035 every hon. Member, including most of those who were eager to get into the Common Market, now make continuous and long complaints—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. This is nothing to do with me.

§ Mr. Skinner
I have not quite finished. I shall only be a minute.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. That is nothing to do with me.

§ Mr. Skinner
That point has nothing to do with it. I am just asking, Mr. Speaker, whether you had noticed, as I have, that no hon. Member, apart from those at the Dispatch Box, stands up to back the Common Market, which is one of the biggest uneconomic units in the world, whose reserves—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. This does not concern me.

§ Mr. Skinner
I will get to it.

§ Mr. Speaker
I do not know whether the hon. Member will get to it. We have a very long day ahead of us and I am taking points of order. Perhaps this is an appropriate moment to say that this has absolutely nothing to do with me. I am taking points of order because I thought that it would be interesting for the Leader of the House to hear about this matter. There is nothing more for me to add.

§ Mr. Skinner
My point of order, Mr. Speaker, is— Mr. Speaker: Order. All right, come on.

§ Mr. Skinner
I was just getting to it. It was a long preamble, but it was not so long as the Minister's earlier answer. My point of order is that because hardly any hon. Member will stand up and support the Common Market, it would be a good idea if this country got out of it. Twenty minutes would then be saved and that time could be spent on Foreign Office questions.

§ Mrs. Clwyd
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. While not wishing to challenge your ruling, which I respect, I should have thought that it was appropriate, on the day that the Prime Minister is meeting President Reagan to discuss star wars, for a statement to be made on the Floor of the House—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Lady and I have had some correspondence about this matter. She must not pursue it.

§ Mr. Marlow
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I should be grateful for your assistance upon a very important matter for the whole House. As you know when we joined the European Community we did so on the basis that 1 per cent. of the nation's VAT resources should be applied in that direction—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. This has nothing to do with me. The hon. Gentleman must raise a point of order to which I can respond.

§ Mr. Marlow
It relates to the nature of the debate and discussion of the parliamentary measure which should be introduced to deal with such matters. As you know, Mr. Speaker, not long ago the House had to vote on the extended loan to the Community of £120 million of taxpayers' money. From the answer of my right hon. Friend this afternoon, the Chancellor—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman is trying to do something which I thought we had stopped doing—that is, prolonging Question Time. I think that we should now proceed to the ballot for notices of motions.

§ Mr. Loyden
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I understand the difficulties you have in this unruly place. May I ask you to have regard, when calling hon. Members, to those hon. Members who have put down questions on foreign affairs? I understand your difficulties, Mr. Speaker, but today several Members who have not shown sufficient interest to put down questions have been called while those hon. Members who have put down questions have been ignored.

§ Mr. Speaker
The hon. Member has frequently heard me say that I try not to do that.