Council of Ministers (Hansard, 30 November 1983)

§ Mr. Channon

The meeting of the Council on 25 November, which I attended, made useful progress. Discussion concentrated on the outstanding priority areas identified by the two previous European Councils: the reduction of frontier formalities, agreement on a series of article 100 directives, which have been held up over the question of Community certification of products of third country origin, and the proposed new common commercial policy regulation.

The Council agreed the frontier facilitation directive and adopted the temporary use regulation. The former will improve co-ordination between customs posts at adjacent frontiers and includes a number of other measures to reduce waiting times for goods vehicles at intra-Community frontiers. The latter will enable professional effects and, in certain circumstances, exhibition goods, to 496W be imported temporarily into another member state without payment of taxes and without requiring any form of financial guarantee.

In the context of the proposals for a single administrative document for customs formalities, agreement was reached on the amount of information that could be required in intra-Community trade. I also pressed for an early timetable for the adoption of a document which would bring practical benefits to business by reducing the amount of paperwork needed to conduct trade within the Community.

Agreement in principle was reached on 15 of the article 100 directives hitherto blocked by the question of Community certification of products from third countries. The fifteen concerned are proposals for directives relating to seamless steel gas cylinders; seamless aluminium alloy gas cylinders; welded unalloyed steel gas cylinders; non-electric appliances for heating, cooking and hot water production; appliances using gaseous fuels for the instantaneous production of hot water; for the common provisions for lifting and mechanical handling appliances; electrically operated lifts; for the common provisions for construction plant and equipment; permissible sound levels for pneumatic concrete-breakers and picks, for current generators for welding; for current generators for power supply; for compressors; for tower cranes; and for lawn mowers; and to a directive relating to electro-medical equipment used in human or veterinary medicine.

Adoption of these directives will need to proceed in parallel with agreement on the proposed common commercial policy regulation on which the Council had a brief exchange of views and on which decisions will have to be taken in due course.

A large majority of member states were able to agree on a series of proposals for improving European standards making to facilitate trade within the Community. I hope that the outstanding issues on these proposals can be resolved quickly.

I made clear the United Kingdom's concern that there should be progress in liberalising trade in services as well as making progress in parallel towards completely free trade in goods. Free trade in services such as insurance and air transport is an essential part of the completion of the Community's internal market.

I hope and expect that further meetings of the Council on internal market matters will be held in the new year under the French Presidency of the Community, to resolve the outstanding issues and to carry forward work where the recent meetings of the Council have suggested fresh initiatives. I believe it to be essential that further progress be made within a reasonable time.