HC Deb 30 July 1976 vol 916 cc444-5W
Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether an EEC economic zone of 200 miles will impinge on Great Britain's national interest in the North Sea and in the Western Approaches;

(2) whether Rockall will provide a measuring point from which to calculate the 200 mile EEC economic zone;

(3) whether he will urge the amendment of the Community's proposal for a 200 mile EEC economic zone, to accord with Great Britain's desire to maintain national control over mineral resources of the North Sea.

Mr. Hattersley

Although the Council of Ministers has agreed on acceptance of the principle of 200-mile economic zones as part of the member States' common negotiating positions at the Law of the Sea Conference, no proposals have been put forward for an EEC 200-mile economic zone. The United Kingdom has already sovereign rights under international law for the exploitation of our Continental Shelf resources, and these will not be affected by the introduction of a 200-mile economic zone. The British position at the Law of the Sea Conference is that all islands should count for the generation of economic zones.