U.K.’s Considerations In Bid To Join Six

Press, Volume C, Issue 29516, 18 May 1961, Page 15

U.K.’s Considerations In Bid To Join Six

(N.Z. press Association—Copyright) LONDON, May 17. Britain cannot sacrifice its trade relations with countries like Australia and New Zealand in a bid to join the European Common Market, the “Daily Mail” said today.

However, the newspaper said the Prime Minister, Mr Macmillan had yesterday given the clearest hint yet that Britain this year would be ready to negotiate for membership. The newspaper said that Cabinet was almost agreed that Britain should join if the right concession could be obtained from the six member nations—France, West Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. The Prime Minister had laid down in the House of Commons the conditions on which Britain would be ready to join. Either the 1957 Treaty of Rome, on which the common market was based, must be amended, or a separate protocol for Britain must be drawn up to protect agricultural and Commonwealth interests and the nations of the European Free Trade Association, the newspaper said. “Basically, this means .hat Britain will go in if it can be assured of strict safeguards for its farming interests, free entry of Commonwealth goods and the rights of the other E.F.T.A. countries. “The Cabinet wishes to join the common market but there is a jprice beyond which Britain will not go. “Mr Macmillan is hopeful that negotiations with Europe can be a success. A Anal decision will probably wait until early in summer. It will depend on the outcome of talks with the Common Market countries in the next few weeks.

“The main difficulty tn achieving a basis for talks will be Commonwealth entry of goods into Britain. “It is not thought that a formula to satisfy British farming interests will be impossible to find. "The key problem remains the Commonwealth. There cannot be a break with countries like New Zealand and Australia, which depend heavily on Britain for trade," added the “Daily Mail." Mr Macmillan said that there had been no correspondence between himself and the Prime Ministers of Australia, New Zealand and Canada relating to their joining the E.F.T.A. The Labour Party’s foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Denis Healey, asked in the Commons yesterday whether the Prime Minister could clear up “’onfusion” created when he said last week there was

no question of Britain joining the Common Market and that the question the Government was considering was some form of association. Mr Macmillan replied: "I was misquoted. I said there was no question cf just joining the Common Market by walking down the street and buying a ticket and joining the club without considering whether we could join, subject to protocol, which would give us the necessary conditions for the Commonwealth, British agriculture and other special considerations.” Meanwhile, the British-led “outer” seven free trade area became the “outer eight” yesterday when Finland oined the group. Associated Press reported.