THE EEC AND THE COMMONWEALTH
SIR,--1 am sorry that the Spectator should have been led into error over the attitude of the New Zealand Government towards a possible association between the United Kingdom and the .European Economic Community.
Your issue of Friday, January 20, 1961, carries on page 63 the statement that 'the idea that our Commonwealth ties preclude us from joining was again knocked on the head by the New Zealand Government this week; its new Minister of Trade arguing that New Zealand will actually be worse off financially if Britain stays out.' I assume that this was based on an item which appeared in the press a few days earlier and which purported to be a state- ment made by the New Zealand Minister of Trade. In fact it was made up in part of statements attri- buted to the Minister and in part of gratuitous com- ment by the New Zealand correspondent of the newspaper, the two being combined in such a way as to create an entirely misleading impression that there has been a fundamental change of attitude on the part of New Zealand towards the issue under dis- cussion.
Careful examination of the newspaper item will show that the Minister's statement about the signi- ficance for New Zealand of an association between the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community was expressly subject to two important stipulations/ Mr. Marshall was speaking of the effect on New Zealand's interests 'in the long term,' and he made it plain that even those interests are likely to be advanced only if satisfactory arrangements can be made for the safeguarding of the New Zealand economy in the short term (which could be a con- siderable number uf years). It is the doubt that this .objective can be achieved which underlies the attitude of any New Zealand Government.
In short the important question for New Zealand is not whether the United Kingdom should enter into an association with the European Economic Community (this is a matter for the United Kingdom Government), but whether the basis on which the association is sought is one that provides adequate protection of the legitimate interests of New Zealand. —Yours faithfully,
O. R. LAKING
Acting High Commissioner for New Zealand 415 Strand, WC2
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