§ Mr. Mackintoshasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all the separate subsidies and price guarantees paid to the agricultural industry and divide them into the categories of those regarded by his Department as clearly contrary to the Treaty of Rome and present agricultural regulations of the European Economic Community, those that would be acceptable under the Treaty and the regulations and those where an element of doubt exists as to whether they would be acceptable or not.
§ Mr. PeartIt seems clear that our present system of price guarantees for cereals, fat cattle, pigs, milk and eggs would not be compatible with the existing regulations which the E.E.C. have made for those products. The position is less clear for certain other price guaranteed commodities, i.e. sugar beet, potatoes, sheep and wool, for which the Community have not so far formulated any regulations. The Community has also still to decide on the criteria for judging which State aids to agriculture should or should not be regarded as compatible with the Common Market. In these circumstances the categorisation of all the separate subsidies and guarantees requested would be unduly speculative and possibly prejudicial to any future discussion of these matters which might be necessary with the Community.