§ Mr. Lawlerasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the meeting of the European Community Steel Council on 21 June.
§ Mr. ParkinsonI attended the Steel Council in Luxembourg on 21 June, with my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Industry. The central issue before the Council was the question of prolongation of the mandatory quota arrangements under ECSC article 58 after the current decision expires on 30 June. The Council agreed that in order to maintain market stability the quotas should be prolonged for a month, until 31 July, while further discussions take place at Government and industry level on the Commission's proposals. The Council will reconvene on 25 July. 1 said that a precondition for our agreement to a comprehensive prolongation would be categorical commitments from member states regarding capacity cuts. I also made it clear that we would be looking for a reallocation of quotas under any comprehensive prolongation to reflect restructuring that has already been carried out.
Before the Council, my hon. Friend and I met Vice President Davignon and Commissioner Andriessen to discuss restructuring and state aids. They confirmed their commitment to obtain a reduction in EC steel-making capacity of 30 million tonnes by 1985. They contended that the achievement of this target will require a further effort from all member states. I left them in no doubt that the United Kingdom had already made the major contribution, and that it was now the turn of others to match this. I also said that Commission approval of the proposed investment by BSC at Port Talbot was a priority for the Government.