Prime Minister
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you know, the Council was given a really very good start by the completion of the enlargment negotiations by the Foreign Ministers, and I would like to add my congratulations to all of them, not least to Mr. Andreotti for his leadership, for bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion. We now look forward to the accession of Spain and Portugal next year, which is a very considerable development for the Community and democratic unity in Europe.
That left us with certain very important things to do at this Council if we were to agree to the enlargement, that is to say, Greece was to lift her veto on enlargement, and I am very pleased to say that we have reached a settlement of the Integrated Mediterranean Programmes. It is a settlement over seven years and it will cost Britain only £10 million a year. A settlement that in fact, as you know, involves some 1.6 billion ECUs of new money but I have given you the effect it will have on Britain.
And also, the last obstacle to a common position of the Council on the Own-Resources decision has been reached. As you know, now it formally has to go to the European Parliament for adoption and then to our own Parliament to be voted upon and the treaty to be ratified. [end p1]
So we can now look forward to a serious discussion of the future development of the Community in Milan in June, in the light of the Dooge Committee's Report.
Now, needless to say, we in the United Kingdom are enthusiasts for the completion of the Common Market and will be working very hard for that.
We also had a very useful and quite long discussion about the blot on Europe of unemployment and its causes, and I have been greatly encouraged by my colleagues' response to my own proposals for an attack on unnecessary burdens on industry and commerce, especially on small firms.
M. Delors felt that we could learn something from the United States ability to create new jobs—seven million since 1982 in the United States, and two-thirds of them in firms employing under fifty people—and I am sure that we can learn from that. But we must—and it was acknowledged that we must—keep a tight hold on and further drive down inflation, and we must also keep public expenditure in check and halt its growth.
We also had another interesting discussion on the need to strengthen the technological base of the Community and improve our training for work and as you will have seen, there is quite an interesting communique on the technological base.
I have suggested two areas for action on regulations, which you will find incorporated in the communique: an attack on rules and regulations which tie small firms up in knots of red tape and put a heavy burden on the resources and time of even larger firms; and to make for a more flexible and less rigid labour market, so that employing people is made easier and less costly. [end p2]
The communique charges the Commission with coming up with an action programme in both of the areas which I have put forward.
I think I can perhaps best sum up this Council of Europe Meeting by saying that, as far as Community business is concerned, we completed what we came to do, which was the necessary arrangements which enabled the Community to be enlarged and the necessary arrangements as far as the Council is concerned to unblock the decision on Own-Resources which, of course, is very important for the United Kingdom.
Now, your questions? [end p3]
John Dickie ( “The Daily Mail” )
(very low level) When do you now expect the British budget rebate of £600 million, which was promised at Fontainbleau?
Prime Minister
Well, this is why the Own-Resources decision was absolutely vital, vital to get that today, and of course, Greece unblocked the reserves she had and 1,000 million ECUs should be with us then by the end of this year.
Ian Murray
Prime Minister, how quickly do you think you will be able to bring the Treaty and the Own-Resources Decision before the British Parliament?
Prime Minister
I cannot give you a date. There are certain formalities to be completed before we can do that. As I have indicated, it must first go to the European Parliament, which doubtless will have various views to give on it and which I hope will adopt it. And then it has to go through certain procedures in our own Parliament, but I think we will do it as soon as we can. Before the Summer. The Summer is fairly soon, you know. Before we rise, I hope. I hope before we rise for the Recess.
John Fraser (IRN)
Could you give us some indication of the tone of your meeting this morning with Dr. FitzGerald and whether you believe [end p4] that it played a constructive part in the dialogue between the two governments.
Prime Minister
Yes, I think it played a constructive part. The tone was good, as you would expect, and we did issue a small communique afterwards, the Taoiseach, Dr. Garret FitzGerald, and I [Words missing] had a brief meeting in the margins of the Council. They reviewed progress on the dialogue agreed between them at their meeting in Chequers last year, which has been conducted at ministerial and official level. They also agreed that there was real merit in continuing the process. It is not however possible at this stage to predict the eventual outcome.
It was a friendly meeting, as you would expect.
John Fraser
Could I ask a supplementary on that? Does that mean, Prime Minister, that no immediate breakthrough is in sight?
Prime Minister
Well, I think you should just take what is said in the communique. We agreed that there was real merit in continuing with the process, but it is not possible at this stage to predict the eventual outcome. Now, if I start putting a gloss on that, you will find some artificial significance in the gloss, so I shall withhold from doing just that. [end p5]
Question
For the first time, Milan looks as if we are going to have a Council which has not got a major problem on the agenda. What kind of form do you feel that the advance of Europe should take, and are you interested, for example, in the majority voting discussions which apparently have been going on between M. Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl?
Prime Minister
Well, we are not interested in changing the Treaty as far as majority voting is concerned and obviously, the unanimity will have to remain for major things, and also where there is a vital national interest on any particular matter, I think we would most of us agree that we must continue the debate until that vital national interest is taken into account. But once you have said that, there are quite a number of things that can be done within the present treaty.
Question
Could you expand on that a little bit?
Prime Minister
Well no, not at the moment. There are some times where you have majority voting, where you have provision for majority voting, where you do not in fact go ahead but where you could. Provision for majority voting in the Treaty, for example, standards is one such thing. [end p6]
Question
Prime Minister, do you think that people in Britain should welcome the progress which has been made in the last few weeks, and indeed, the decision which will now allow Spain and Portugal into the Community at the beginning of next year? Why will it be good for Britain?
Prime Minister
It will be good for Britain because it will be good for democracy, to have a larger area of stability in Europe and a larger area of democracy is good for democracy and good for Britain, and in a very troubled world, it is very good to increase the area of stability.
Question
Prime Minister, did the Council make any statement on South Africa?
Prime Minister
There was a statement on South Africa, yes. Not a very long one. Have you not got it? Not been put out. I am so sorry. It has not been handed out as a statement. It is one of those things, as you know, where the Presidency has notes and gives you the gist of the notes. But it is more or less like this:
We launched a fresh appeal for the ending of the apartheid system and the latest tragedies which lead us to condemn the recent violent actions of the South African police at Uitenhage and we reinforced the importance of that message. I am sorry that [end p7] it is it. I will just let you have a look at this afterwards.
Question
But why is it not issued as a statement?
Prime Minister
Because we did not ourselves go through each and every one of these communiques, sentence for sentence and word for word, because we really felt it much much more important, after we had our discussions, not to spend endless time on sentence-by-sentence in the many communiques on the Middle East, on South Africa, on Central America, etc., but to get down to the Integrated Mediterranean Programmes and also everything to complete enlargement and also a long discussion on unemployment.
Question
Did you have a long discussion on M. Delors ' idea that there might be some joint research on a Community basis as a way of responding to the American invitation on the SDI programme?
Prime Minister
It was not mentioned. The SDI was mentioned, of course, and East-West, but M. Delors made no such suggestion.
Question
And what is your reaction to that idea that if Europe responds and takes part in the research programme, it should do it jointly rather than individually? [end p8]
Prime Minister
We have, all of us, been asked to respond within sixty days. As you know, I made my response before we were asked even to do so. I think we have to look further into a few of us having possible joint collaboration. A few of us, but not the Community as a whole. It is not a matter for the Community as a whole.
Denis Brown (The Guardian)
You negotiated a special deal for Britain on the Imps matter. I understand that Greece has been guaranteed 2 billion ECU over seven years. I am a little puzzled about why the British share of that should be only £10 million per year.
Prime Minister
Because the 2 billion ECU is not all additional money. The additional money is 1.6 billion ECU and our share of that—under the Fontainebleau Agreement—amounts to, over seven years, just a little bit under £10 million a year. You see, as well as the additional money, there is some from the Structural Funds. That is where you get the 2 billion from for Greece—some of additional money and some from the Structural Funds.
Denis Brown
May I ask as a supplementary: will Britain's share of that Structural Fund, the Regional Fund, the Social Fund and so on be affected by this deal at all? [end p9]
Prime Minister
The share from the Structural Fund actually comes from the increase in the Structural Fund. Otherwise the normal arrangements for that fund, for those three funds, continue as usual, and you will find that in the communique.
Question
Prime Minister, do you see the agreement on the Mediterranean Programmes as a significant way in which the northern countries of Europe are helping the south of Europe to catch up, or do you see it simply as a way of buying off a Greek opposition to enlargement?
Prime Minister
The purpose of the Integrated Mediterranean Programmes are to take into account the effect of enlargement on those existing Mediterranean countries already in the Community. It is not meant to be a permanent programme. It is meant to give them time to adapt to the change of Spain and Portugal coming in and that will take a time, and they thought seven years would be best; but it is not meant to be a permanent programme.
Question
Could I just ask a supplementary on that? Do you not regard the terms that have been negotiated for enlargement as basically so strict that, really, there would be not very much need to give any more money to the Mediterranean regions because they will not be very seriously affected? [end p10]
Prime Minister
Well, their case is that they are quite seriously affected and we have taken account of that in the arrangements that we have made today. But is a temporary provision; seven years is temporary. It is not a permanent provision.
Question (very low level)
Was there any discussion, Prime Minister, on … . (clearing of debts … .)
Prime Minister
We had no discussion beyond those I have indicated on this year's Community finance. The Own-Resources decision now being unblocked makes it possible to pay our own refund, which is due this year, by the end of this year.
Question (The Scotsman)
For some time, there has been pressure in the highlands of Scotland for an integrated highlands programme. Do you think now you have conceded to Greece on the integrated Mediterranean programme the time has come for Britain to press for such a programme?
Prime Minister
Well, with all due respect, the highlands are not in the same latitude as Spain and Portugal and as I indicated, it is not an integrated Mediterranean programme as such; it is one which enables countries—Greece, the southern parts of France, and Italy—to modify their policies because of the effect of bringing in [end p11] Spain and Portugal, on the economies of Italy, Greece and France.
The answer is that the question was founded on the wrong premise.