§ 4.27 p.m.
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall now repeat a Statement made in another place by my right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The Statement is as follows: "I represented the United Kingdom at a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) in Brussels on 5th and 6th March. I was accompanied by my honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary.
"The main topic at this meeting was the future treatment of new monetary compensatory amounts—that is, increases in MCAs which might come about as a result of changes in central rates under the proposed European Monetary System. The Commission made proposals for the semi-automatic reduction of these MCAs. In so far as they related to positive MCAs, that is, the MCAs of countries with prices above the common price level—these proposals presupposed increases in common prices, so as to avoid any reduction of prices in those countries in terms of their own currencies. This would have prejudiced our resolve to ensure that there are no increases in common prices until structural surpluses are eliminated. I therefore refused to agree to the proposals unless they were linked with a decision to freeze common prices. In the event, the eight other member countries agreed between themselves to behave as though the proposals were in force. This is a decision for those member States but it has no effect in Community law. It in no way affects our ability to get a sustained freeze of common prices, nor have we accepted the automatic reduction of our own MCAs.
"The outcome of this negotiation formed part of a series of agreements by the Council. In particular the Council agreed in principle to the Commission's proposals for devaluation of various green currencies, including 213 a 5 per cent. devaluation of the green pound, which I have supported as in line with the policies set out in the recent White Paper, Farming and the Nation. It was also agreed to introduce a franchise (or reduction) of one percentage point in new positive MCAs when these appeared. It remains to be decided when these various decisions will take effect.
"The Council also discussed the proposed co-responsibility levy on milk producers. I made it clear that we could not accept this proposal in its present form, which grossly discriminates against our own efficient dairy industry. I also pressed for an early decision on tariff reductions on imports of new potatoes from Cyprus. And I again urged the Commissioner for Agriculture to bring forward quickly proposals for measures to safeguard the welfare of farm animals in transit. He undertook to do so in the near future."
My Lords, that concludes the Statement.
§ 4.30 p.m.
§ Lord SANDYSMy Lords, the House will be grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Peart, for repeating the Statement. He said in an aside that he thought it would be easier. I am not certain whether he has found it so, nor perhaps have your Lordships. Perhaps I can take the last item first in regard to safeguarding the welfare of farm animals in transit, and say that it can only be a welcome piece of information that the matter is being brought forward. In relating the Statement to the recent Government White Paper, Farming and the Nation, I should particularly like to address myself to the question of the reduction of 5 per cent. in the value of the green pound.
It was the part of the Statement which said:
It remains to be decided when these various decisions will take effect".Can the noble Lord the Leader of the House tell us when it is envisaged that a time programme will be attached to that 5 per cent. devaluation? I also wonder whether the noble Lord will tell us a little more about the new compensatory amounts. As we understand it, this phrase attaches to the system as it has evolved since the adoption of the European 214 Monetary System by certain member countries, not including Britain. It appears that the Statement is part of a series of agreements, but we should like to know when a time decision is going to take place on the green pound.
§ Lord MACKIE of BENSHIEMy Lords, I, too, welcome the last part of the Statement on safeguarding the welfare of animals in transit. In view of the Statement, I should like to ask the Leader of the House whether the Government really subscribe to the principles of the Common Agricultural Policy. We are well aware that there are grave snags in its working. We are aware that the structural surpluses must be got down. But I must say that while I agree with many things said by the Minister of Agriculture, I find his method of saying them extremely dangerous.
I ask the question about the principles of the Common Agricultural Policy because I see here a very dangerous statement:
In the event, the eight other Member countries agreed between themselves to behave as though the proposals were in force".I find that this is a consequence which I would have expected from the extremely aggressive attidude adopted by our Minister of Agriculture who is, after all, a known anti-Marketeer. I say this with the utmost respect and the greatest reluctance, but the fact that the eight countries have agreed between themselves to behave as though the proposals were in force appears to me to be a highly dangerous situation for the unity of the Common Market.I welcome the proposed 5 per cent. reduction in the value of the green pound, although the farmers of this country will not think it a great deal in view of the fact that their costs are going to rise by over l0 per cent. I should welcome an assurance by the Leader of the House that the Government support the principles of the Common Agricultural Policy while accepting that we need to cut the structural subsidy.
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Sandys, asked me about progress regarding the green pound. He really asked about the future. In other words, when will the green pound devaluation take effect? I think that that 215 is what he was after. We now have Council agreement in principle to the 5 per cent. devaluation of the green pound, but the regulation must be formally adopted by the Council before taking effect. This regulation would introduce simultaneously the green rate changes for the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Ireland. There is shortly to be another meeting of the Council and the matter will again be raised there.
I come to the important question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Mackie of Benshie, who defended most of the Statement and the need to curb structural surpluses. He asked whether we were committeed to the principles of the Common Agricultural Policy. We are. I am hoping to defend it tonight at an agricultural dinner. We are in the Community, and we have to make it work. That was my view, and always has been. It is the view of my Government. I hope that one would not read too much into this Statement. In fact there is no attempt in this Statement to criticise the CAP. What the Minister is trying to do is to improve it, and also to try to remove structural surpluses. I know that they can sometimes be exaggerated. But I believe that we are in the Community, and we have to make the Common Agricultural Policy work.
The Earl of BESSBOROUGHMy Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the relationship of these matters to the European Monetary System. Does what he has said mean that we are closer to achieving a European Monetary System at least among the eight Community countries mentioned by the noble Lord on the Liberal Benches that have agreed? Does this mean that at any rate other countries within the Community are coming closer to achieving the kind of monetary system which was drawn up at Bremen?
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, I cannot commit myself, or indeed the Government, to what may or may not happen. I personally am sympathetic to the move towards this European unity in the monetary field. If it is sensible to do it, I think it may well be that we shall one day accept it, but for the moment I cannot speculate.