Russia Seeking Tie With E.E.C.

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30453, 29 May 1964, Page 16

Russia Seeking Tie With E.E.C.

(Special Correspondent N Z.P.A.) LONDON, May 28. New moves towards closer understanding between the Common Market countries and Communist Eastern Europe are under discussion in the capitals of the Six and Moscow, according to the “Daily Telegraph’s” Common Market correspondent.

These moves, he says, have been stimulated by the over-all increase in East • West trade, Rumania’s greater show of independence from Moscow, Poland’s successful application to be considered as a participant in Western tariff talks and Hungary’s encouragement of trade links with West Germany. Russia’s difficulties with China also appeared to have made her more willing to consider allowing her satellites closer co-operation with the West. Western European planners are, therefore, reappraising the effectiveness and long-term prospects of the Communist attempt to imitate the Common Market —the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance, known as Comecon. It embraces East Germany, the rest of the satellites and Outer Mongolia, w’ith China holding observer status. Stalin founded Comecon 15 years ago, partly as a coun-ter-weight to the Marshall Plan, but mainly to help him transfer Eastern European industrial wealth to Russia.

For j-ears it lay dormant, until Mr Khrushchev, with an eye on Britain’s application to join the Common Market, ordered that it be given

a supranational planning body to speed economic integration of the member states. Comecon has, in the opinion of the Brussels planners, the markings of a community which could one day speak with one voice in Negotiation with the Six. The thinking in Brussels is that Mr Khrushchev should be persuaded to give formal recognition of the existence of the Common Market institutions. If he did so, the Six say they would then agree on a community policy towards trade with the East in the same way that they negotiate jointly with Britain and the United States in the Geneva G.A.T.T. talks. Such a policy, Market officials claim, would eventually give the Six a big advantage over Britain in seeking new trade outlets to the East