HC Deb 19 January 1965 vol 705 cc29-32W
Mr. Carol Johnson

asked the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to Resolution No. 280 on Europe's position in world economic relations, adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 4th November, 1964; and what action the Government have taken or contemplate taking on it.

Mr. George Thomson

In meetings of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and in subsequent discussions of its results, Her Majesty's Government have been actuated by the principles underlying the Council of Europe's Resolution 280. Her Majesty's Government are deeply concerned that the Kennedy Round should be successfully concluded and will continue to play a full part in the work of the various international organisations concerned with the problems of the developing countries.

Mr. Carol Johnson

asked the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to Recommendation 403 on contacts between the Members of the European Economic Community and other member States of the Council of Europe and on European political union, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 6th November, 1964; and what action the Government have taken or contemplate taking in regard to it.

Mr. George Thomson

During the last meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in December, developments in the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Community were reviewed by representatives of the Chairmen of the Ministerial Councils of the two organisations. I hope that this procedure will be followed at future meetings and that it will lead to useful discussions.

The second part of Recommendation 403 seems to assume that the members of the European Economic Community will form a political union from which other European countries would be excluded. As I told the House on 6th December, Her Majesty's Government believe that European co-operation should be on the widest basis, within the framework of an Atlantic partnership, and we should like to participate from the outset in any discussions about closer political co-operation.

Mr. Carol Johnson

asked the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to Recommendation No. 401 on future action by the Council of Europe in the cultural field, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 4th November, 1964; and what action the Government have taken or contemplate taking in regard to it.

Mr. George Thomson

Her Majesty's Government are generally in favour of Recommendation 401, which endorses anad hoc committee's proposals aimed at streamlining and strengthening the cultural work of the Council for Cultural Co-operation. Some of these proposals are still under discussion by the Committee of Ministers' Deputies but, with certain modifications necessitated by budgetary priorities, most have been accepted by the Deputies. It is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to continue to play an active and constructive part in the work of the Council of Europe in the cultural field through the Council for Cultural Co-operation.

Mr. Carol Johnson

asked the minister of State for Foreign Affairs, what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to Recommendation No. 398 on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations, Kennedy Round, which was adopted by the consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 4th November, 1964; and what action the Government have taken or contemplate taking on it.

Mr. George Thomson

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe took note of a report on the progress of the Kennedy Round negotiations at their meeting on 18th December, 1964.

Her Majesty's Government fully support the aims of the Kennedy Round negotiations on tariffs and trade, and will do all they can to bring these to a successful conclusion. Our policy is reflected in the very short list of exceptions to our offer of a 50 per cent. linear cut in industrial tariffs which we tabled in Geneva on 16th November, 1964.

Mr. Carol Johnson

asked the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to Recommendation No. 404 on the setting up of a European Office for International Town Pairings and Exchange, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 7th November, 1964; and what action the Government have taken or contemplate taking on it.

Mr. George Thomson

Her Majesty's Government are in sympathy with the spirit of Recommendation 404 of the Consultative Assembly.

The Committee of Ministers' Deputies have already agreed to retain in the Council of Europe's 1965 Budget the subsidy towards the European Inter-municipal Exchanges Plan to which the Recommendation refers. The Committee have, however, decided, after careful consideration, that it would not at present be desirable to act on the other proposals in the Recommendation, which could only be undertaken at the expense of other Council of Europe activities. Instead, the Committee have invited the Secretary-General to study possible ways in which the Secretariat could help to co-ordinate and promote intermunicipal exchanges.

Mr. Carol Johnson

asked the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in connection with Recommendation No. 376 on the tasks of the Assembly of the Council of Europe in the present situation of European affairs, adopted by the Consultative Assembly on 24th September, 1963, he has any proposals to make for seeking an extension to this country of existing arrangements of the European Economic Community.

Mr. George Thomson

Her Majesty's Government are taking an active part in the work at present in progress within the Council of Europe, following the Assembly's Recommendation No. 376, with a view to identifying fields of activity suited to the harmonisation of arrangements in member countries with those already adopted by the European Economic Community or by the European Free Trade Association, and to determining which activities would be most suitable for early action. In addition, officials are studying the possibility of common arrangements in fields where no policy has yet been formulated by the European Economic Community or by the European Free Trade Association.