§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether it is intended to give EEC customers prior consideration for North Sea crude oil over other international customers.
§ Mr. John SmithThe Government intend, consistent with their various obligations, that the best possible use be made of this finite resource. It is too early to go further than the statement made in this House on 6th December 1974.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if, within his policy of retaining full national sovereignty over British oil, he will propose ways of taking the people of EEC countries into consultation over its extraction and use.
§ Mr. John SmithMy right hon. Friend will, as he has already made clear, be keeping his European colleagues informed of the Government's plans for reducing, in line with EEC energy objectives, our dependence on imported oil.