HC Deb 21 June 1976 vol 913 cc365-6W
Miss Boothroyd

asked the Minister for Overseas Development if he has seen the German memorandum submitted to EEC Development Ministers in April, calling for harmonisation of the Community's development policies and closer co-ordination in recipient countries as a precondition for extension of Community aid programmes; and whether he will make a precondition for extension of Community aid programmes; and whether he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards this proposal.

Mr. Prentice

Yes. The German memorandum was discussed by the Development Council on 8th April, and the Commission will now submit concrete proposals for reinforcing the harmonisation and co-ordination of development policies, in the light of that discussion, to the Council.

The German Government are at present making progress towards harmonisation a precondition for the implementation of past decisions to provide Community financial aid for the non-associates, and the memorandum proposes a three-stage approach, as follows:

  1. (a) first, immediately increased co-ordinaton between member States in executing their bilateral policies, especially in those recipient countries which have signed the Lomé Convention;
  2. (b) second, harmonisation in the form of adoption of common principles for development policy, no later than the expiry of the Lomé Convention in 1980;
  3. (c) finally, step-by-step transfer to the Community institutions of bilateral development 366 policies, along the lines envisaged in the Tindemans Report.

On the second stage above, the memorandum has suggested immediate harmonisation in respect of policy in relation to charging the cost of technical co-operation to the richer developing countries and the untying of aid.

We support moves towards harmonisation of aid policies where this has pragmatic advantages and where it would not be regressive in its effect on the poorest developing countries. We doubt whether full harmonisation will be possible until the member States of the Community are in agreement about the basic objectives of their aid, and it does not seem practicable to fix a date for this. In the meantime Britain and other Member States will, no doubt, need to retain control over bilateral policies, though I naturally hope they will increasingly converge. This process has already begun in relation to the establishment of common positions among the member States at UNCTAD IV and similar international meetings.

Meanwhile there are certain ideas in the German Government's memorandum, for instance on improved co-ordination in both associated and non-associated countries, which we think useful, and I expect many of these to be picked up in the Commission's proposals. I should make it plain, however, that we do not accept that there need be a delay in decisions about implementing a significant programme of Community financial aid for the non-associates; we are deeply concerned by the delay which has already occurred on this front and we continue to seek early action.