§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Minister of Transport how many British commissioners are appointed to the Central Commission for the Navigation of the River Rhine; what is their term of office; and what are their duties.
§ Mr. FowlerThere are two: both Government officials with no fixed term of office. Their task is to represent United Kingdom interests. One of them is particularly concerned with legal matters.
§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Minister of Transport what advantages accrue to the United Kingdom from membership of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the River Rhine.
§ Mr. FowlerA small but growing volume of United Kingdom freight uses the Rhine, and about 5 per cent. of the total traffic is in vessels owned or registered in this country.
Our main concerns are to retain our present trading rights, and to ensure that the commission's measures do not prejudice United Kingdom interests. Membership furthers the achievement of these goals, and is of political benefit to us in other international bodies such as EEC.
§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Minister of Transport what proposals are currently under consideration by the Central Commission for the Navigation of the River 73W Rhine; and how are British interests affected.
§ Mr. FowlerThere are four main current proposals. These are, first, for an additional protocol to the Revised Convention for the Navigation of the Rhine (1963), which will guarantee freedom to trade for subscribers to the convention and members of the EEC, but provide for possible controls of other shipping; second, the EEC Commission's application for Community membership of the Central Rhine Commission; third, proposals for new VAT and infrastructure charges; fourth, for the temporary laying-up of certain Rhine shipping, and for measures to deal with permanent surplus capacity.
The effects on British interests of the first two cannot yet be fully defined, but are being closely watched. New charges would not, of course, be in our interests, nor would any measures to control shipping capacity which worked unreasonably against British shipowners or freight.
§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Minister of Transport what is the estimated cost in the current financial year of British membership of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the River Rhine.
§ Mr. Fowler£50,000. This is mainly our contribution to running costs, but the figure includes a small sum for official time and travel.
§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Minister of Transport if he will define the functions of his Department in relation to British membership of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the River Rhine.
§ Mr. FowlerMy Department's functions are to represent United Kingdom policy, to support our economic and technical interests, and to play a constructive part in the commission's work.