§ 26. Mr. Frank Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his recent conversations with the French Minister of the Interior, M. Poniatowski.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsI paid an official visit to Paris on 23rd and 24th February for discussions with M. Poniatowski. Our talks were concerned mainly with the decision of the European Council last December to adopt a United Kingdom proposal that Community Ministers of the Interior—or Ministers with similar responsibilities—should meet to discuss matters of common concern, particularly in regard to law and order, but we also discussed the scope for improving bilateral co-operation between Britain and France in these matters. Our discussions were, I believe, constructive. Following is the text of the communiqué issued at the end of my visit
The Home Secretary, the right hon. Roy Jenkins, paid an official visit to Paris at the invitation of the Minister of State, Minister of the Interior of the French Republic, Monsieur Michel Poniatowski, on 23rd and 24th February 1976.The Ministers pursued the decision, adopted at the meeting of the European Council in Rome on 1st and 2nd December 1975, that Ministers of the Interior (or Ministers with similar responsibilities) of the member states of the European Community should meet to discuss matters arising in the field of their responsibilities, in particular with regard to law and order. There was general agreement between the two Ministers as to the objectives which should be set for this meeting. They noted the preparatory arrangements for the meeting agreed at official level, and they welcomed the fact that these arrangements would enable the Ministerial meeting to take place at an early date.The Ministers also agreed in principle to improve and extend bilateral co-operation between France and the United Kingdom in the fight against crime and terrorism (particularly where these transcend national boundaries), with special reference to techniques and methods, and to the training and equipment of the police. They also looked forward to closer co-operation between the two coun- 282W tries in other matters arising within their respective responsibilities, such as the exchange of information on frontier controls and on techniques of fire-fighting. They gave instructions for a number of projects and suggestions in this regard to be followed up through the appropriate channels.Mr. Jenkins was also received by the President of the Republic, Monsieur Valery Giscard d'Estaing.