§ Mr. Madelasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the safeguards for hill farmers if Great Britain joins the Common Market.
§ Mr. PriorWhether we enter the Community or not, it is impossible to guarantee the future of specific subsidies but in the event of entry our farmers would gain access to an extra market of some 200 million people where the consumption of meat per head is rising much faster than in this country. This offers valuable opportunities to our livestock farmers in the hills as elsewhere. In addition, the present members give aid in various forms to producers with special problems, and we shall be having discussions with the Community about the problems of our 211W hill areas. Under the Treaty of Rome the objectives of the common agricultural policy include stable markets and a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, and there are provisions in Articles 42 and 92 for aid to areas of special difficulty.