Mr. Slaterasked the Postmaster General if he has considered Resolution 171, 1959, of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe; and whether it is his intention to implement the resolution at the forthcoming European Conference of Ministers of Posts and Telecommunications.
§ Miss PikeThe hon. Member is no doubt referring to the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations which formed the subject of my reply on 25th November. The Resolution referred to favours the transformation of the Conference into one of Ministers.
I would pay a tribute to the interest displayed by the Consultative Assembly in international postal and telecommunications collaboration within Europe; it has undoubtedly been one of the main factors leading to the creation of the Conference. The present basis of the Conference conforms with normal practice in the international postal and telecommunications services. In my opinion, which I believe obtains also in other member-countries of the Council of Europe, it would be undesirable to introduce the change envisaged.