§ EARL ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish in a White Paper details of the agreements reached at Brussels before the breakdown of the negotiations with the European Economic Community.]
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE EARL OF HOME)My Lords, if the noble Earl is interested in publication of the provisional agreements entered into in Brussels, their substance has already been made public in Parliamentary statements and in White Papers which are available to Parliament. I shall be happy to let the noble Earl have a full set of the published statements and White Papers dealing with these matters on which provisional agreement was reached. If he wishes a history, as is customary after negotiations of this nature, I can tell him that preparations are being made for such a work, but I cannot yet name a date by which such a work could be published.
§ EARL ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I expect the noble Earl will understand that we know all about the odd statements made from time to time and about the short White Paper which was published, but they do not contain what I ask for in my Question—that is, details of the provisional agreements—so that we may deduce from them their actual effect upon the different Departments which deal with the subjects that were under discussion. I refer to British agriculture and the actual details concerning a variety of countries in the Commonwealth, and the like. The details are not in the papers published. We ought to have them.
THE EARL OF HOMEMy Lords, of course I want to help the noble Earl and the House to have such information as I can collect and the fullest information possible, but obviously such a document as he indicates is very complicated. I hope it will not be very long delayed and will be available to facilitate any discussions the noble Earl might wish. I cannot yet name a date on which we can do it, but I will keep in touch with the noble Earl.
§ EARL ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, may I ask the noble Earl whether he is of the opinion we now have in these various statements the same full information which, according to The Times on Monday, has been circulated by the Belgian Government to the Belgian Parliament?
THE EARL OF HOMEMy Lords, I think the Belgian Government made their own assessment as to the point which the negotiations reached before there was a breakdown in Brussels. This again is something that we want to do, but we want to make certain that when a document is published it is entirely accurate and contains all the information which Parliament could wish. That will take, I am afraid, a little time. I should like to consult with my right honourable friend the Lord Privy Seal again to see how soon we may get such a document out. I cannot now promise a date.
§ EARL ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I must say that as I go about I find great dissatisfaction in the country because people are so little 985 informed as to the full details of agreements arrived at or what led the Government to issue a statement that they were so near success all round, without any confirmation of that whatsoever in the publications which have been made. We must have the details, and the details which have yet to be assessed. If the Belgian Government can so quickly assess from their point of view all that has been done, why not this Government?
THE EARL OF HOMEMy Lords, as I go about the country, as I do like the noble Earl, I would say the country was fed up with post-mortems and wanted to get on with the next stage. Nevertheless, I am with him in wanting to produce the information. All I want to do is to produce all the information accurately and give it to him in a form Parliament would like.
§ EARL ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, if the Government really mean by that last answer that they regard the whole negotiation as dead—I am not asking for a post-mortem at the moment; I am asking for information—and any further publication is a post-mortem, I will accept it.
§ LORD WILLIAMS OF BARNBURGHMy Lords, when the promised statement arrives, will it contain also those items on which there was no provisional or any kind of agreement.
THE EARL OF HOMEMy Lords, what we are aiming to produce is a history, a full story of the negotiations. Nothing that is relevant to the negotiations will be omitted. How far we shall go into what might have taken place if certain circumstances had been different, I cannot say, but I want to produce for noble Lords opposite and for the House a full story of the negotiations.
LORD REAMy Lords, will the Foreign Secretary say whether that means consulting other countries concerned in these negotiations, or will it be a factual statement of the British point of view?
THE EARL OF HOMEIt will be a factual statement, and I hope we shall check with other countries that the statements it contains are accurate, if that is necessary.
§ LORD MERRIVALEMy Lords may I ask the noble Earl the Foreign Secretary whether this would be practicable and feasible, with a view to Members of Parliament obtaining the widest possible picture of this problem? Should certain bodies in France, for instance, the Centre Francais d'Informations Civiques and others, succeed in obtaining from the French Government the same thing—that is, a White Paper giving the French point of view—would it be possible to have it available in this country, and would it be possible to obtain copies of the Report requested by the European Parliament which the Hallstein Commission were to produce?
THE EARL OF HOMEMy Lords, I think it would be quite a new practice in Parliament if we were to produce White Papers giving the point of view of Foreign Governments.
§ EARL ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, I shall ask my noble friends to consider the detailed answers. I am obliged to the Foreign Secretary, but we shall return to it.