§ Mr. Bodyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Agriculture Ministers' meeting in Brussels on 19 January; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe Council agreed the outstanding beef import quotas for 1982: the continuation of the 50, 000 tonne GATT quota of frozen beef; a quota of 210, 000 head of calves for fattening; and the maintenance of last year's quota of 60, 000 tonnes of beef for manufacturing, divided equally between levy-free and levy-reduced imports. The Commission declared its intention of fixing the reduced levy initially at 45 per cent. of the normal level, with a review after six months. This is a very satisfactory result for the United Kingdom, since 145W we retain our large share of the GATT quota and the beef which our processors need can be imported at last year's levels at the best time of year for the market.
The Council also agreed arrangements for a launching and an investment aid for cotton producer groups in fulfilment of a commitment in the Accession Treaty with Greece, and a special aid for tobacco growers in Italy whose facilities had been destroyed by the 1980 earthquake.
I called on the Commission to report what action it had taken on the very substantial French national aid package, and to make it clear what further steps it intended to take to avoid a repetition of last year's ineffective action. Mr. Dalsager reported that France's initial notification had been unsatisfactory and that he had not yet received any reply to his request for further details. I made it clear that we were very dissatisfied that a month after the French Government's announcement the Commission was still not in a position to take a decision, and pressed for a substantive debate on the issue at next month's Council.
The United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark called for a progress report on the Commission's action against the preferential gas tariff available to Dutch glasshouse growers. Mr. Dalsager reported that after the December Council he had written to the Dutch Government demanding an assurance by 15 January 1982 that the preferential gas tariff should cease by 1 October 1982 and that meanwhile the gap between the industrial and horticultural tariffs should not be widened. He had received a reply on 14 January. It did not give the assurances for which he had asked, although the Dutch Government had undertaken to consider whether it could eliminate the preferential tariff more quickly. The Commission was examining the reply in detail and would take decisions as soon as possible. I stressed that this was not at all satisfactory. United Kingdom growers had had a very difficult year and the existence of many companies was threatened by unfair competition. The national aids authorised by the Commission were no substitute for effective action to eliminate this distortion. The Commission must say clearly at next month's Council what measures it was going to take.