No Decision Yet On Premiers’ Meeting

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29748, 15 February 1962, Page 8

No Decision Yet On Premiers’ Meeting

(N.Z.P.A .-Reuter —Copyright)

LONDON, February 11

The British Prime Minister (Mr Macmillan) said yesterday he did not think the moment had arrived to see whether Commonwealth Prime Ministers wished to meet to consider Britain’s negotiations to enter the Common Market.

He was replying in the House of Commons to a question by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Gaitskell).

Mr Gaitskell had pressed him to say that at an appropriate moment, and in any event before the Government took any decision on the Common Market, he would take the initiative in proposing a Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ conference to consider the whole situation.

Mr Macmillan replied that last week he said he would take the initiative at the appropriate moment to find out whether it was the general wish of other Commonwealth Prime Ministers that a meeting should be held. “I do not think that that moment has yet arrived,” he said.

Negotiations on Britain's application to join the Common Market were to be resumed in Brussets today by high officials. The two-day meeting will begin with a restricted session to discuss procedure to be followed by Ministers from the seven countries in their first discussion of agricultural problems on February 22 and 23.

Next week's ministerial meeting is expected to be attended by the British Minister of Agriculture (Mr Soames) as well as the head of the British negotiating team. Mr Heath. Next, the officials will discuss the problem of manufac tured exports from the underdeveloped countries of th* Commonwealth such as India. Pakistan, Hong Kong and Ceylon. Other items on the agenda of the officials’ meeting include a progress report from a working group of experts studying possible effects of Britain's demand that the common external tariff of the enlarged community should be reduced to nil on a certain number of products. The officials will also consider the effect of Britain's entry on exports of manufactured goods from the developed countries of the Commonwealth such as Canada. Australia, and New Zealand, which have been studied by the same working group.