HC Deb 07 June 1990 vol 173 cc677-81W
Mr. Stevens

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement of forthcoming business in the European Community Council of Ministers.

Mr. Waldegrave

The Environment Council will meet on 7 and 8 June. The Presidency hopes for agreement on the amended waste framework proposal to amend directive 75/442 which establishes the basic structure for waste management in the Community; on the proposal on the labelling, use, content and disposal of batteries and accumulators containing dangerous substances, and on a resolution to establish policy targets on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Council will also seek to conclude a Community negotiating position for the London ozone layer conference in June. There will be a discussion and possible agreement of the proposal to add four substances to annex II to the directive concerning the discharge of dangerous substances to water, and the Presidency hopes for agreement on the proposal to establish a committee to facilitate amendment of existing directives on drinking water, bathing water and surface water quality. There is likely to be detailed discussion about the protection of waters from pollution by nitrates, and about the proposal to consolidate Community anti-pollution standards for all sizes of motor car. The Presidency will report progress on the proposal concerning the protection of habitats and of wild fauna and flora and on the proposal to treat municipal waste water before discharge into the environment.

The Economic and Finance Council will meet on 11 June to discuss multilateral surveillance of member states' economies and the possible development of economic and monetary union beyond stage 1. On 8 May 1990 the Commission published its technical proposals for VAT, mutual assistance and intra-EC trade statistics, based on the agreements reached at ECOFIN at the end of 1989. Initial discussion of these proposals is expected. The Council is expected to discuss the investment services directive, and may also discuss the package of three tax measures to encourage cross-border co-operation between companies (mergers directive, parents/subsidiaries directive and arbitration procedure) and hear a statement by the Taxation Commissioner on the Commission's corporate taxation policy.

The Consumer Council will meet on 13 June. After lengthy and inconclusive discussion on the directive on general product safety at official level, Ministers will be asked to give a clearer direction for future negotiations. They will be particularly concerned with the main areas of contention, notably the scope of the directive, its overlap with other directives and the procedure of handling emergencies at Community level. A draft directive on unfair contract terms is in preparation within the Commission and a progress report is expected. The French have requested a discussion and are expected to press the Commission to step up efforts in this area. The Commission has asked the Dutch Consumer Safety Institute to lead a working party to undertake a review of achievements of the European home and leisure accident surveillance system (EHLASS), and its report is to be tabled at the Council on 13 June. There is likely to be a presentation in the margins by the Commission on a three-year plan for future priorities in consumer policy, which has been agreed and is in the public domain. An item on the package travel directive has been included at the suggestion of the French. However, the Commission has recently accepted a number of substantive amendments proposed by the European Parliament. No revised text will be available from the Commission in time for the Council discussion, although the Council could still act by unanimity to adopt the common position text agreed at Internal Market Council in February 1990.

At the Foreign Affairs Council on 18 and 19 June, Ministers will discuss preparations for the 25 and 26 June European Council (including political union; economic and monetary union; the free movement of people; and co-operation against drugs and international organised crime). The Commission will present a draft mandate for approval by the Council on the opening of negotiations to create an enhanced free trade area with the EFTA countries, and will present a new strategy for strengthening economic relations with the Mediterranean countries in general. The Council will propose ways of enhancing the EC's co-operation agreement with Yugoslavia and the association agreement with Turkey. There will be an orientation debate on the Communities' relations with central and eastern Europe, and discussions of voting rights in local elections and of the situation in the occupied territories. Ministers will consider the current state of play in the GATT Uruguay round, and preparations for the Houston economic summit on 9 to 11 July. The food aid directive and Community policy on the generalised system of preferences 1991–2000 may also be discussed. Ministers will also discuss political co-operation subjects.

The Transport Council will meet on 18 and 19 June. Ministers will discuss aviation matters which cover the components of the second liberalisation package. It is expected that restrictions on market access and the approval of fares will be further relaxed. Air traffic control discussions should centre on increasing capacity in Europe by integrating air traffic control systems and optimising the traffic route network. On shipping cabotage Ministers hope to establish a basis for a balanced agreement on liberalisation acceptable to all member states. Regarding prevention of accidents causing pollution, we advocate strict compliance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972. The Council will support all appropriate measures to improve passenger safety which may be tabled. On road haulage, Ministers will discuss crisis measures to ensure corrective measures will be available to reduce the impact of any possible disruption resulting from increasing liberalisation. It is proposed to fix the Community quota for 1991 and 1992, hopefully increasing the proportion of operations under Community authorisations and ensuring smooth transition to a fully liberalised road haulage market. Discussion on vehicles hired without drivers should ratify abolishing restrictive clauses. The road safety resolution is likely to be discussed, and we strongly support it as drafted because it is in line with United Kingdom views in pressing for early EC agreement on improved construction standards as a means of significantly reducing road haulage casualties. The high-speed network may be discussed under any other business, and we will support the concept of co-ordinating plans, but consider that the case for additional links must be assessed on a commercial basis. Ministers are also likely to discuss fiscal harmonisation of road haulage and infrastructure cost coverage for goods vehicles.

The Internal Market Council will meet on 20 June to discuss a number of measures relevant to the completion of the single market.

The European Council will meet on 25 and 26 June in Dublin. Heads of Government are likely to discuss political union, economic and monetary union, the 1992 programme, the environment, drugs, German unification and the EC's external relations.

The Agriculture Council will meet on 25 and 26 June and is likely to discuss poultry meat marketing standards, non-food uses of agricultural products, foot and mouth disease, the veterinary fund, animal health (horses), trade in live animals, Aujesky's disease, poultry hatching eggs, enzootic bovine leukosis, pesticide residues and pesticide approval. It may also discuss pathogens in feedingstuffs, welfare of calves and pigs, veterinary medicines and organic farming.

The Fisheries Council will meet on 27 June and is likely to discuss technical conservation measures, Mediterranean fisheries, negotiations with third-world countries, seasonal price adjustment for herring, allocation of additional quotas at Greenland, structural measures for small-scale fisheries, submission of data on landing of fishery products, and EC/USSR. It may also discuss revision of 1990 TACs and quotas for 1990.

At the Telecommunications Council on 28 June Ministers will discuss the open network provision (ONP) which sets out to define the terms and conditions under which telecommunications administrations will be required to give access to users in general and private service operators in particular to the telecommunications network infrastructure and certain specific services. The proposed directive on ONP does not itself specify any detailed ONP conditions but sets out a legal framework within which subsequent measures dealing with specific areas are to be drawn up. A common position on the proposal was reached as a result of a political agreement on two market measures to open up the Community telecommunications services markets to competition and the Council may be expected formally to adopt the directive. The Presidency may seek to obtain political agreement on aspects of the mutual recognition of type approval for telecommunications terminal equipment proposal, which aimed at ensuring the mutual recognition of type approval procedures for telecommunications terminal equipment as between different member states and as a necessary step to the creation of a single market in those equipments. Ministers may discuss the integrated services digital network (ISDN), based on the 1989 progress report on the implementation of Council recommendation 86/659/EEC on the co-ordinated introduction of ISDN in the European Community. The progress report presents several proposals for discussion on further activity at the Community level in respect of ISDN. A proposal for a resolution has not yet been received from the Commission. The Council may hold orientation debates on co-operation with eastern European countries in the telecommunications field, and on proposals for a directive and a recommendation aimed at establishing the necessary conditions for the commercial exploitation of digital European cordless telecommunications (DECT) technology throughout the EC. Ministers will also discuss the resolution on frequency management which lays down policy guidelines on management of the radio frequency spectrum aimed at strengthening European co-ordination of the allocations of radio frequencies, taking full account of the role of the conference of European post and telecommunications administrators in this field.

The Research Council will meet on 29 June. It is expected that common positions will be agreed on the EURET (transport) and EUROTRA II (machine translation) research programmes. The human genome research programme may be adopted. The Research Council will have a preliminary discussion of the Commission's papers on scientific and technological collaboration with third-world countries and eastern Europe and will also discuss a draft Council resolution on the participation of central and eastern European countries in COST (European co-operation in the field of scientific and technical research). The Council may also discuss general issues arising from the proposals for specific programmes of the recently adopted framework programme for R and D, 1990–94.