Foreign Affairs Council (Hansard, 21 July 1982)

§ Mr. Hurd

The Foreign Affairs Council met in Brussels on 19 and 20 July. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I represented the United Kingdom on 19 July. My hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Trade was our representative on 20 July.

The Council was preceded by a political co-operation meeting at which Foreign Ministers of the Ten discussed the situation in the Lebanon and in the Middle East region as a whole. They re-affirmed the position taken at the European Council on 28 and 29 June that an early solution was needed to the crisis and that it was important that progress should be made towards a solution of the wider Palestinian problem. They also expressed their serious concern about the recent escalation of fighting between Iran and Iraq.

At the Council itself the Ministers agreed upon specific terms to be put to Portugal for the conclusion of a voluntary restraint arrangement on textiles for the pre-accession period; and transitional arrangements to last for four years from the date of accession.

The Council then considered the question of aid to Central America and agreed to look at this again in September on the basis of specific Commission proposals for individual countries.

Ministers also discussed the implementation of the agreement reached on 24 and 25 May on refunds of the United. Kingdom net contribution in respect of 1982 including the precise arrangments for financing the refunds, but no decision was taken. The Council will return to this in September.

The Council agreed two draft regulations providing for further funds totalling 55 million ecu for the Community's programme of support for demonsration projects in alternative energy sources and energy saving.

There was a thorough discussion of European Community-United States relations. The Council agreed that these continued to cause serious concern. On steel the Commission reported that the United States Administration was not prepared to negotiate realistic terms for a Community-wide settlement. It therefore recommended that the five member States, including the United Kingdom, whose ability to export to the United States is seriously affected by provisional countervailing duties should enter into negotiations for separate bilateral agreements but on a coordinated Community basis. This was accepted by the Council.

In addition, the Council approved the Commission's proposal to take action in the GATT against the United States system of DISC export subsidies and endorsed its action in raising, also in the GATT, the recent decision by Congress to extend the copyright manufacturing clause, which requires printing of books by American authors to be carried out in the United States.

The Council generally endorsed the broad orientations proposed by the Commission on preparations for the GATT ministerial meeting, while noting that more detailed discussion would be required in the Autumn.

Discussions on trade matters also covered EFTA, Manioc and European Community-Japan relations. The 178W Council adopted the annual report on the Community's relations with EFTA and agreed in part Commission proposals for simplifying the rules of origin requirement for European Community-EFTA trade. It authorised the conclusion of agreements with certain supplier countries limiting European Communiy imports of manioc.

Under other business the Commission reported that progress in recent consultations with Japan remained inadequate. It was agreed that there should be substantive discussion at the next meeting of the Council on 20 and 21 September.

Also under other business, the Commission reported on the latest developments in UNLOSC and called for continuing close co-operation within the Community.