§ Mr. David EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made in removing the barriers to British firms seeking to pursue mergers and acquisitions within the European Community.
§ Mr. RedwoodAt the December Internal Market Council the Commission undertook to bring forward proposals by the end of March 1990 for the reduction and elimination of a range of practices that serve as barriers to takeovers. The Council undertook to examine the proposals in due course, taking particular account of the objective of completing the internal market. The DTI has commissioned and published a report by Coopers and Lybrand—which is available in the Library—which sets out the range of barriers that need to be addressed.