§ Mr. John Carlisleasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his assessment of the effect on the competitive position of United Kingdom exporters of barley to Northern Spain of the insistence by the Spanish Government that goods can be shipped only by vessels under the Spanish flag.
§ Mr. GummerI shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
§ Mr. John Carlisleasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make immediate representations to the European Economic Community Commission following the decision by the Spanish Government to accept imports of feed barley by ship only on vessels with a Spanish flag.
§ Mr. MooreI have been asked to reply.
The Spanish Government have for many years reserved the carriage of certain cargoes, including barley, to vessels with a Spanish flag. However, I am pressing hard within the European Community for agreement on a proposed freedom to provide services regulation which would among other things put an end to discriminatory cargo reservation measures such as these.