§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will seek to obtain, for the benefit of the self-employed, the benefits of the inter-changeability of labour on Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. BryanNo. The Treaty of Rome provides that restrictions on the freedom of establishment, including the right to engage in self-employed business, of nationals of a member State in the territory of another member State shall be abolished by progressive stages.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, now that Her Majesty's Government have accepted terms and conditions for Great Britain's possible entry into the European Economic Community, he will give the reasons why he has not taken action to increase wage rates in Great Britain to those as now paid in the countries of the Six.
§ Mr. BryanMembership of the European Economic Community does not require the equalisation of wage rates. Real wages have been increasing faster in the E.E.C. than in Great Britain because of a correspondingly faster rise in productivity and economic growth. An important argument for entry is that, along with the Government's economic policies, it will create the conditions for faster economic growth leading to a more rapid increase in real wages.