§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for purposes of implementation of the Luxembourg Agreement of the EEC, what criteria are used by Her Majesty's Government to define the "very important interests" of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HattersleyAs a result of the Luxembourg compromise the practice in the Community is that decisions in the Council of Ministers are normally taken on the basis of unanimous consensus. There has therefore been no need to define which issues involve Her Majesty's Government's very important interests.