§ 11. Mr. PageTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the most recent discussions held with members of the European Free Trade Association on forging closer links with the European Community in the run up to the completion of the internal market in 1992.
§ Mrs. ChalkerWe maintain close contacts with our EFTA friends on this important issue. Most recently, I visited Oslo and Helsinki between 4 and 9 October. Like their other EFTA colleagues, the Norwegians and Finns are pressing ahead with measures necessary to ensure that they can respond to the new challenges and opportunities of the single market.
§ Mr. PageI thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does she agree that it is a tribute to the importance of the internal market of 1992 that people within the European free trade area are urging their countries to join the EEC? Is that not a message that every company engaged in industry, commerce and trade in the United Kingdom could take on board?
§ Mrs. ChalkerIndeed. I can tell my hon. Friend that in my discussions during the summer recess with representatives from many of the EFTA countries—indeed wider than EFTA—it was remarkable to discover how much they wish to participate in the policies that we are pursuing of the single market in the European Community and in the policies of sound growth, the creation of jobs and the reduction in unemployment, in which this country has been so successful.