§ Mr. Jacques ArnoldTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in theOfficial Report a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council on 6 November.
§ Mr. MaudeMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I represented the United Kingdom at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 6 November.
There was brief discussion, on the basis of a Presidency progress report, of work on the various aspects of Frontiers policy. Like the Presidency, my right hon. Friend stressed the importance of effective action against the drugs menace.
In a brief discussion of economic and monetary issues, the Presidency, member states and the Commission indicated that further work should take account of the United Kingdom paper "An Evolutionary Approach to Economic and Monetary Union".
The Council formally adopted the EC/United States steel voluntary restraint arrangement and discussed various other EC/United States trade issues, including the dispute on hormones in meat.
As a further part of its programme to assist economic reform in Poland and Hungary, the Council agreed to liberalise as from 1 January 1990 all discriminatory import restrictions applied against Poland and Hungary. The Council also agreed in principle to add both countries to the list of countries benefiting from the EC's generalised scheme of preferences.
The Commission reported on progress in the GATT Uruguay round. The Council confirmed the importance it attached to a successful outcome to the round and welcomed the acceptance of the EC's offer of Brussels as a venue for the final meeting.
819WThe Council approved in principle the generalised scheme of preferences for 1990.
The Council discussed follow-up to the audio-visual conference in Paris in October.
In the margins of the Council, I attended a biennial meeting of the EC/Egypt Co-operation Council. Separately, and in advance, my right hon. Friend also had a separate meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister.