‘E.E.C. Talks Near Major Obstacles’

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29984, 20 November 1962, Page 15

‘E.E.C. Talks Near Major Obstacles’

(N Z.PA -Reuter— Copyright)

LONDON, November 19.

The negotiations on British entry into the European Common Market were today portrayed by the “Guardian” as being on the verge of facing their major obstacles.

The newspaper said: “The Minister may have been wise, at this stage, to tackle the subjects on which agreement couid be reached fairly easily and to put off dealing with the thornier items. But these cannot be shelved indefinitely. "Soon, if the negotiations are not to grind to a halt, they will have to begin working off the formidable list of major issues still awaiting settlement.

“These include not only the remaining categories of foodstuffs and raw materials but also the transitional arrangements for agriculture, food price policy, the treatment of New Zealand, and voting in the communities,” it said.

The foreign editor of the “Financial Times” said last week's Ministerial meeting had brought “better progress than was widely anticipated. "More important than the agreement actually reached on the position of the Commonwealth countries which refuse association is the prospect held out by the Six

that Commonwealth mutton and lamb might enter Britain duty-free. "Final agreement on this point would represent a considerable step forward because it would remove one major source of anxiety for New Zealand and also benefit Australia,” he said.

Britain's chief Common Market negotiator (Mr E. Heath) today had talks in Luxembourg on Ministerial level on Britain’s application to join the European Coal and Steel Community.

Authoritative sources in Brussels said yesterday that senior officials from Britain and the six members of E.CB.C. bad agreed that aome sections of the British Iron and Steel Act were incompatible with the Coal and Steel Treaty and must be revised.

This Question will be one of the main points on today’s agenda. British sources said the Six were particularly worried that British coal might be “dumped” in Europe after Britain became a member.