ADJUSTMENT TO E.E.C.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31118, 22 July 1966, Page 1

ADJUSTMENT TO E.E.C.

Possibility Of Aid

For N.Z.

'From the London Correspondent of “The Press.’’]

LONDON, July 21.

The European Economic Community may decide to provide financial aid to New Zealand if Britain joins the Common Market to help the Dominion to shift the main structure of its economy from agriculture to industry during a long transitional period.

This was disclosed in a talk to a group of Commonwealth journalists who visited Brussels this week by Mr D. Behm, head of the information to third countries division of the E.E.C. Commission.

Mr Behm said that Common Market countries recognised that New Zealand’s problem would be a special case.

It had never been more than informally discussed among the Six and it was realised that it would be difficult to find a solution —“and of course the •whole matter is of vital interest to the Danes.”

"There has been some thinking in the E.E.C. all along of helping New Zealand to shift the main structure of its economy from agriculture to industry during a Jong transitional period,” he said. Later Mr Behm said that the basis of his comment was a talk to the Six by Dr. Walter Hallstein, of Germany, who is now president of the E.E.C. Commission, who gave this idea on the way in which New Zealand's difficulties could be overcome. This was in 1962 and discussions were never completed nor any decisions made because talks with Britain on joining the market then broke down.

Proposed aid to New Zealand would be in the form of financial grants, he said. When Mr Behm was told the •uggestion of E.E.C. assist-

ance to industrialise New Zealand had not been heard of he replied: “You could not have heard of it —it was never communicated to the British Government at the time.” Although Dr. Hallstein’s idea was not endorsed in any way at the time there had been no dissent expressed. The way in which Denmark had changed emphasis of its economy from agriculture to industry in the last three years showed that the New Zealand problem should not be insuperable, Mr Behm said. Too Much Butter He considered that the New Zealand lamb market in Britain should not be greatly affected, but there was too much butter in Europe now and the E.E.C. was trying to reduce production. Perhaps New Zealand should make less butter and more milk and the surplus could be used for milk powder for developing countries. He suggested that the important thing was to encourage the growth of secondary industry rather than more agricultural production. Earlier, speaking to the group of Commonwealth journalists, Mr J. Lambert, an assistant spokesman of the E.E.C. Commission, said the position of New Zealand if Britain joined the Common Market was recognised and he presumed that discussions on the matter would be taken up from the point where they

broke off a few years ago if Britain made a new application to join. Then Mr Behm intervened with his elaborating remarks.