The Common Market
Full political union by 1980?
Charles Hargrove
Paris The creation of the Community regional fund from 1974 will enable the British Government, before the next parliamentary elections, to point to the practical benefits of membership •in a way which public opinion can see with its own eyes, through the relief of unemployment and underemployment, and the promotion of new industries in Scotland and other distressed areas. Mr Heath can, therefore, be very satisfied with the outcome of the summit.
The Prime Minister did not obtain such firm commitments on industrial, energy, and social policies. But the summit leaders undertook to obtain from the institutions of the Community by the beginning of next year an action programme with firm dates of implementation on European companies, on co-operation in the field of advanced technology; and on the co-ordination of employment and professional training; on improvement in working conditions, collective bargaining, and consumer protection on a European basis. The same goes for environment and energy, although on the last point, the Nine did not set themselves any dates for working out an agreed programme to ensure adequate supplies for Europe in the future.
But the Prime Minister was successful in getting his eight colleagues at the Paris conference to endorse his view that the enlarged European Community must be "outward-looking," both economically and politically. Economically, this means establishing a permanent dialogue with •the United States, Canada, Japan, and other industrialised countries and progressively liberalising international trade, to quote the words of the final communiqué. Both next year's trade negotiations within the framework of GATT, and the reform of the international monetary system, will be approached by the Community in a constructive spirit, and not from the somewhat defensive standpoint upon which France has been insisting.
The British proposal that a date should be set for the opening of the trade negotiations, to show the Community meant business, and another for their close, to show that it had no intention of allowing them to drag on like the Kennedy Round discussions, was accepted. The Council of Ministers should come up with proposals on a Community standpoint in the negotiations by mid-July at the latest, and the discussions with the United States should end by 1975.
This same open-minded attitude is to prevail — at least if intentions are to be taken at their face value — in the approach to discussions with the United States on the reform of the international monetary system, with the ultimate aim of achieving an "equitable and durable order." The list of principles which will govern the Community's approach certainly bears the stamp of Britain. Parities are to be "fixed but adjustable "; general convertibility is to be restored; and an effective international regulation of world supplies of liquidity instituted — but no mention of the role of gold. At the same time, the Community's approach is to take into account the interests of developing countries.
A,nother major success scored by Mr Heath at the conference was its adoption of a ' global ' approach to development aid, alongside the 'regional' approach favoured by France on the ground that "charity begins at home," home in this context being the Mediterranean and the French-speaking African countries. This means the countries of the Indian subcontinent are not to be forgotten. The British Government would have liked an agreement to increase imports from the developing countries by a fixed percentage — 15 per cent was the figure; but regarded as unrealistic a proposal of the Commission taken up by the Belgians that national contributions to aid should total 0.7 per cent of each member country's GNP. In the event no figure was mentioned for either.
Where the Prime Minister made least headway was on political co-operation and the institutions of the Community. His suggestion that the Foreign Ministers should meet four times a year instead of two, as at present, was adopted; but this is Still a far cry from the common foreign Policy in the medium and long term for Which he pressed. It is fair to say that he was not too sanguine about this himself. He did, however, obtain that the Community should have a co-ordinated approach on trade towards the countries of Eastern Europe. The British were not prepared to go as far as the Dutch, the Belgians and the Italians in insisting on a fixed date for direct elections to the European Parliament, both because they regard this as premature and from a desire not to provoke the French government on this issue. The Germans went along with this view. The lesson to be drawn from this aspect of the discussions in Paris is that When London, Paris and Bonn agree to °PPose them there is little that the other member countries can do to make their standpoint prevail. But in the British delegation's view, the passage of the final communique about the reinforcement of the powers of control of the European Parliament and the improvement in the Working relationship between it and the Commission and Council of Ministers, is no empty formula. The aim is full political IMion by 1980. And in 1975, the Council of iviinisters must come up with a report to heads of government detailing the contents of this union — otherwise Mr eath's own words about Europe being no empty monument, no bureaucratic blue_print, but a living democratic society, cc!ncerned with the welfare of Europe's Fltizens and with Europe's contribution to the world," will be empty words indeed.
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