§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support of any kind was given to the United Kingdom by(a) Spain, (b) the EEC and (c) other individual EEC Governments between 1972 and 1976 in the United Kingdom's fishing dispute with Iceland.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe EEC made the tariff reductions on certain Icelandic fish imports provided for under protocol No. 6 of Iceland's 1972 free trade agreement with the Community dependent on a satisfactory resolution of the fisheries dispute with member states. The Council of the EEC implemented the protocol only after the UK settlement with Iceland on 1 June 1976, the last to be concluded by an EEC member. There was close consultations with the German federal Government, whose dispute with Iceland ended in 1975. This consultation included the handling of the British and German cases on the issue before the International Court of Justice. A German proposal for tripartite negotiations in 1972 was rejected by the Government of Iceland. Spain was not a member of the EEC at that time and I am unaware of any bilateral support.