§ Sir Hector Monroasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the EEC Foreign Affairs Council of 28 February.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweAn extra meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council was held in Brussels on 28 February. I was prevented from attending because of bad weather in Belgium. The United Kingdom therefore was represented by our permanent representative to the European Communities.
The Council continued the discussions begun on 18 and 19 February on the best way to incorporate Spain into Community fishing arrangements on a basis which takes account of the legitimate expectations of the applicant member states while safeguarding the balance of fishing opportunities for existing member states under the common fisheries policy.
There was a further exchange of views about the financing of the 1985 budget. Work on this subject will be pursued by the Committee of Permanent Representatives in preparation for the next meeting of the Council on 17 to 20 March.
The Commission introduced new proposals for integrated Mediterranean programmes. These will be discussed in detail at the March Council.