Royal Tour Link With E.E.C. Entry Denied

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29857, 25 June 1962, Page 11

Royal Tour Link With E.E.C. Entry Denied

(A Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) CANBERRA, June 24. Suggestions that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were coming to Australia and New Zealand next year because of the effect of the European Common Market on Commonwealth relations were “quite untrue,” the Australian Prime Minister (Mr Menzies) said today.

Speaking at his first press conference since his return yesterday from an overseas tour, he said that by the Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ conference in September. the situation would be clearer.

He had made his recent visit to London because he wanted to be there while minds were being formed, he said. Mr Menzies said he now thought that, by September, negotiations would not be complete, but they would be sufficiently far ahead to give some indication of the

broad shape of what was going on.

Denying suggestions that the Queen's visit had been arranged because of the effects of the Common Market on Commonwealth relations. Mr Menzies said he had discussed the Royal visit with the Queen some years ago when the Common Market question was not in mind The Queen had told him then that she could not come in 1962, but hoped to do so in 1963. The matter had been allowed to rest there. “Quite Unreal” "To see in this visit some Machiavellian technique in which the Crown is seeking to soften the blow for, us is quite unreal.” Mr Menzies said. “Don't think of this visit as some manoeuvre by which the Queen tempers the wind to the shorn lamb." Mr Menzies said. “She likes the country and wants to come here." Mr Menzies said the Queen agreed well over a year ago that the tour should be informal. “If each Royal visit becomes ‘the full dress journey.’ it will become pretty tedious.” the Prime Minister said. “Eventually. Royal visits will become pretty rare. We have been trying for some time for special visits for special purposes. The visit by Prince Philip to the Olympic Games in 1956 and the Commonwealth Games this year are instances of that.”

Mr Menzies said the Queen would like to visit each State, but the visit would be simply to localities “I think that is what the Queen would like, and if we do that we will be more likely to have more Royal visits,” Mr Menzies said.

Asked whether any of the Royal children would accompany their parents, Mr Menzies said: "We don't know about that yet" He said that just after he arrived in London on May 30. he had a talk with the Deputy-Prime Minister of New Zealand. Mr Marshall “We made a statement. which I thought was fairly commonplace, but we woke up the next day to find ourselves famous,” Mr Menzies said.

“The gist of what we were saying was this: there had just been announced on the very day that I flew into London a tentative agreement between the United Kingdom and the Six on hard manufactures, as they are classified. “This agreement amounted to this: that the existing preferences enjoyed by the Commonwealth countries into Britain would be phased out by 1970, this being the year the Common Market becomes completely established under the terms of the treaty. “They would be phased out by two steps and then disappear in 1970,” Mr Menzies said. ' “Precipice Solution” “This has been called the precipice solution in various quarters and that is not’ a bad description. “We felt very strongly that if that principle was applied down the line to matters of greater importance, such as temperate foodstuffs, fruit, and all those commodities, so that it became the established practice that the conditions of Britain going into the Common Market were that by 1970 all our preferences right down the line disappear, we felt that if that happened that w’ould be disastrous. “It would give rise to the most violent protests on the part of the Commonwealth countries—l am sure it would ♦‘lf Britain can do no better than that as the negotiations proceed, so that in September the best you can get is the 1970 termination, then I for one think there is a grave doubt whether the United Kingdom Government would go in or whether the House of Commons would approve it going in.” American Attitude Speaking of the American attitude to Britain’s entry, Mr Menzies said: “I don’t doubt for one moment tha; the Administration would like to see Britain in Europe. “I think that what the President said in the communique which we issued, that he expressed his strong belief in the importance of the Commonwealth as a source of stability and strength to the free world, was quite right