88. Mr. Smithersasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made towards the establishment of a European television network since the passing of a resolution on this subject by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1953; and 94W what action is being taken by the British authorities concerned in this matter.
§ Mr. TurtonAn interchange of television programmes over an international European network took place in June this year. Similar exchanges on a less concentrated scale began in October and will end on 31st December. These experimental exchanges have made use of temporary equipment paid for by the British Broadcasting Corporation and Continental broadcasting systems, and have been sufficiently satisfactory to justify giving further consideration to the project of establishing a permanent network, as envisaged in the Consultative Assembly's resolution. There are however, many difficulties yet to be overcome, not the least of which is the high cost involved.