§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement on the NATO conference in Bonn.
§ The Prime MinisterAccompanied by my right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, I attended a North Atlantic Council meeting of Heads of190W State and Government in Bonn on 9–10 June. This was the first Ministerial meeting attended by Spain as a full member of the Alliance. We published a Programme of Peace in Freedom, based on the democratic values which NATO defends. I have placed a copy in the Library.
We resolved to maintain adequate military strength to prevent war and deter aggression, and to aim for greater effectiveness in the allocation of national resources to defence. We agreed that militarily significant and verifiable arms control agreements, in both the nuclear and conventional fields, could also contribute to our security. We called on the Soviet Union to respond to the comprehensive series of proposals which the West has put forward. We re-stated our belief that all the principles and provisions of the Helsinki Final Act must be applied.
Colleagues who spoke in session about the Falklands repeated their full support for British policy and for Her Majesty's Government's attempts to put an end to aggression against British sovereign territory. The Heads of State and Government also discussed the situation in Lebanon.