§ Mr. Whiteheadasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement about the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Community that met on 19th and 20th December 1977.
§ Mr. JuddMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and I represented the United Kingdom at the 19th–20th December Council meeting. The main items on the agenda for this meeting were steel and textiles.
The Council examined Commission proposals for a range of internal and external measures aimed at alleviating the crisis in the Community steel industry. Agreement was reached on a number of measures, including an extension of the system of minimum prices to certain additional steel products, the provision of an extra 32 million units of account for the ECSC budget, and a mandate for the Commission to negotiate bilateral agreements with the Community's principal steel suppliers to control low-priced imports. In the meantime, a system of reference prices is being imposed.
On textiles, the Council examined the Commission's report on the bilateral negotiations held with supplier countries over the previous two months and the Commission's recommendation on the renewal of the GATT Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) on international textile trade. My right hon. Friend the 737W Secretary of State for Trade again emphasised the particular sensitivity for the United Kingdom of imports of cotton yarn and cloth. The Council approved the economic content of the bilateral agreements negotiated by the Commission and accepted that the Community should agree to the renewal of the MFA for a further four years. The Community's application of the MFA to the supplier countries is dependent on their signature of the bilateral agreements.
The Council discussed a number of outstanding points on the new European Regional Development Fund and remitted further work on them to officials. The Council noted the progress made in the negotiations between EURATOM and the IAEA on inspection procedures for nuclear installations in the member States which are signatories to the 1973 Safeguards Verification Agreement, and approved an exchange of letters supplementing the safeguards provisions of the 1959 EURATOM-Canada Nuclear Co-operation Agreement.
The Council also discussed a number of current external problems. It adopted directives for a resumption of negotiations with Spain for the extension of its agreement with the Community, and a mandate for negotiations with Cyprus on trade in agricultural products for 1978 and 1979. The Council also adopted autonomous measures, embodying the Cyprus mandate, to apply to trade with Cyprus for three months—that is, during the negotiations. I made clear the United Kingdom's view that these measures do not meet the needs of Cyprus
738W
The prices are shown below in £ per tonne (in £ per 100 kg liveweight for beef cattle):— United kingdom Netherlands 31st December 1977 1st January 1978 31st December 1977 1st January 1978 Beef—adult cattle— Guide … … … … 69.38 72.10 96.52 96.52 Intervention … … … 62.44 64.89 86.87 86.87 Cheddar Cheese—Theschold p.g. 10 … 1,204.19 1,255.40 1,705.87 1,705.87 Butter—82 per cent fat—Intervention … 1,187.48 1,34.87 1,813.86 1,813.86 Common Wheat—Threshold … … 89.45 95.30 126.44 127.59 Wheat—breadmaking—Reference … 77.01 83.82 111.08 112.22 Barley— Threshold … … … … 81.42 87.58 116.11 117.26 Intervention … … … 68.55 74.71 98.88 100.03 Maize— Threshold … … … … 86.66 87.58 116.11 117.26 Intervention … … … — — 97.29 98.43 Note: Common prices in Unites of Account have been converted into national currencies at the representative rate (£1=1.70463 uas; £1=1.73013 uas for butter; and 1 F1=0.293884 uas). Prices in Dutch Florins have then been converted into £ sterling at the markedt rate at end December of £1=4.3325 Florins. Prices in the United Kingdom at 31st December 1977 are after deducting basic compensatory amounts. or of trade between Cyprus and the EEC and our continuing reservations on the acceptability of the mandate.
The European Investment Bank is to be asked to make 20 million units of account available as exceptional aid to Lebanon in the form of loans, guaranteed by the Community, for reconstruction projects. The Council also reviewed the negotiating mandate for the conclusion of a new agreement with Yugoslavia and will return to this subject in January. The Council was unable to reach agreement on a Commission proposal, which we strongly supported, to extend tariff concessions on Israeli oranges and other Mediterranean citrus fruit.
In the margins of the Council, a meeting of the EEC/Greece Association Council was held at ministerial level and the fifth ministerial session of the accession negotiations also took place.