HL Deb 23 July 1980 vol 412 cc381-3

2.46 p.m.

Lord BROCKWAY

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the conclusions of the conference between the EEC and COMECON on European commercial co-operation which met at Geneva on 16th July.

Lord TREFGARNE

My Lords, we understand from the Commission that at the talks between the Community and the CMEA from 16th to 18th July no substantial progress was made on the text of an agreement, though the talks did serve to help clarify the position of the two sides.

Lord BROCKWAY

My Lords, while thanking the Minister for his audible statement in these difficult conditions, may I ask this? Does he not agree that economic integration between the West and the East is, as Basket 2 of the Helsinki Agreement emphasised, the basic foundation towards co-operation and towards détente and ultimate disarmament? Did not the problem at this conference arise between those who wanted separate agreements with different countries and industries and those who wanted a co-ordinated agreement between the two agencies? Will this matter be discussed at the Madrid Conference, regarding the Helsinki Agreement, and what will be the attitude of Her Majesty's Government?

Lord TREFGARNE

No, my Lords; the main problem was the CMEA's reluctance to engage in detailed discussions or indeed even to allow sufficient time for these during the meeting. They declined to hold extra talks either on the evening of the 17th July or on the afternoon of the 18th July, so making it impossible to discuss the whole of the draft agreement. On that basis and in those circumstances, I do not see much prospect of progress on these matters at Madrid.

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, may I ask the Minister whether the chief difficulty here is still the different interpretations on both sides of the structure and therefore the economic validity of the two organisations; that is to say, the EEC take a different view as to how they should deal with their regional counterparts in the East from the view of the East, and the question of bilateral agreements is therefore still very much in the balance?

Lord TREFGARNE

Certainly, my Lords, it is the case that we would prefer to develop our trade relations by bilateral agreement with the countries of Eastern Europe, and it may well be that the CMEA members see it differently. But there was none the less almost total inflexibility on the CMEA side.

Lord CHELWOOD

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that there is considerable evidence that most of the Soviet satellite countries of Europe would greatly prefer to enter into bilateral agreements with Community countries rather than be subject to the dictates of the Kremlin? Would he also agree that therefore the policy of Her Majesty's Government seems to be supported commercially and politically by the Community and appears to be the right one?

Lord TREFGARNE

My Lords, certainly, as I said earlier, we prefer to deal in these matters on a bilateral basis, and that was the core of our position during these talks.