§ Mr. Fortescueasked the Minister of Aviation what initiative he proposes to take to expedite progress in the establishment of common European requirements for civil and military aircraft; and whether this matter can be adequately pursued within the present administrative framework.
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§ Mr. StonehouseI intend to foster the close relationships which already exist between Ministers and between officials in the European countries concerned. This has enabled a number of important new co-operative projects to be launched, including the Jaguar and V.G. aircraft, and certain military helicopters. Last week I had further talks with French and German Ministers about the possibility of launching on a tripartite basis an economic airbus project, and we plan to meet again in the middle of March. The Answer to the second part of the Question is, "Yes".