Phil Longman
… identical views or similar views on NATO and the deployment of Cruise and Pershing missiles?
Mrs. Thatcher
Very similar views indeed. We are both staunch supporters of NATO and indeed I think peoples in all countries who belong to NATO have a great faith in the future of NATO. We recognise that we all made a decision about the deployment of Cruise and Pershing missiles and we recognise that we must stick to that decision, unless by any great good fortune the Soviet Union agreed not to have any SS20s, the zero option, in which case they wouldn't need to be deployed. I'm afraid there's only a very slender, if any, possibility of that.
P. Longman
So on Britain's behalf it would have to be the zero option and Mr. Lubbers seemed to be suggesting that he might be prepared to compromise about deployment of Cruise in Holland.
Mrs. Thatcher
I don't think he was compromising at all about the zero option—as far as the commencement of deployment is concerned, I think we were both at one on that, that if the Soviet Union does not agree to zero option by the end of this year, the Cruise and Pershings will be deployed, but as you know they're to be deployed over quite a long period, they don't all go in one day just like that. The German and British ones start and then the Italian and then the Dutch and Belgian, they come in in a timetable, now the great thing is that if after the end of December in the talks at Geneva the Soviets agreed to take down some of their SS20s and we had a proper counting of their SS20s and the Cruise and Pershings and we got agreement on a lesser number, then of course the full number need not be deployed.
P. Longman
What effect has the shooting down of the South Korea airliner by the Soviet Union had on the disarmament negotiations?
Mrs. Thatcher
Well, as you know we were absolutely appalled at that totally inhumane act on the part of the Soviet Union but I think we all agree that the disarmament talks are extremely important and it's important for all people that they should go ahead. We wish very much, are very sincere in our conviction, to have genuine disarmament. I don't mean posturing, I mean genuine disarmament. The place to negotiate that is not by making really great speeches or letters all over the world or declarations, the place actually to negotiate it is at the negotiating table in Geneva and that's what we want, so those negotiations must continue. [end p1]
P. Longman
Turning to matters closer to the European Community itself—the Common Agricultural Policy you're very keen to have that reformed, a more equitable system of contributions to the European budget and reform of the agricultural policy itself.
Mrs. Thatcher
That is correct. The agricultural policy is taking a very large proportion of the Community budget and it's that way because we're producing a lot of food that we don't want and can't eat and have to sell off cheap to other countries and really we ought to be able to work out a system under which we produce fewer surpluses and therefore less finance goes to the surpluses and then it would release more for industrial policies and regional policies which is what many of us want.
P. Longman
Do you think you're in for a battle with the other members of the European Community about that?
Mrs. Thatcher
Yes I do, because those countries that produce surpluses would like to go on producing them. It suits them to have it this way but it doesn't really make sense if you look at the competing needs for finance in the community.
P. Longman
What about Britain's contribution to the European Community budget itself, what sort of system would you like to see worked out?
Mrs. Thatcher
Well that is going to be a battle because, you know, we've had short term solutions and this time I really want a long term solution. It seems to me you really must look at Community contributions very much as you look at a taxation system, those who are richer per head and can afford more contribute more and those who are less rich and hope perhaps one day to be richer, those who are less rich now contribute less, that means a fundamentally different system from the one which we've got, but at the moment there are two contributors to the European budget, Germany and Britain and the rest tend to take out. Now that won't do, we can't go on that way and what I want is a system which gives us a fair and equitable contribution. Britain's always prepared to pay her whack, we always have done but we want to pay a fair amount and it's going to be quite tricky to get that, but we shall battle on.
P. Longman
Thank you very much.