E.F.T.A. TALKS TO BEGIN

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30760, 26 May 1965, Page 9

E.F.T.A. TALKS TO BEGIN

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) VIENNA, May 24. The European Free Trade Association will hold its first summit meeting in Vienna today to examine British and Scandinavian plans for preventing the widening gap with the Common Market and fox* strengthening the E.F.T.A.

According to well-informed sources, the British proposals are for building bridges with the six-nation Common Market to avoid any trade war between the two economic blocs, whilst the Scandinavian project is aimed at bolstering the E.F.T-A. itself by strengthening its secretariat and other measures.

Mr Harold Wilson, Britain’s Prime Minister, who initiated the two-day talks, said on arrival in Vienna last night: “We cannot happily sit back to see the growing division of Europe without finding ways of easing difficulties for our exporters and the exporters of other countries.”

Highlights of Mr Wilson’s proposals include the ex-

change of E.F.T.A. and Common Market ambassadors and the establishment of a joint standing Ministerial council to review economic, trading, and fiscal policies of the two groups, the sources said. Because of limited time, the two-day conference will only be able to devote today to discussion of European economic integration and the British and Nordic proposals are therefore expected to be referred to a working group of experts. They will report back to the next E.F.T.A. Ministerial meeting at Copenhagen next October. A surprise was the disclosure that Mr Frank Figgures

would be giving up his E.F T.A. secretary-generalship after the Copenhagen meeting.

Authoritative E.F.T.A. British and other sources are at pains to dispel speculation that his resignation has any political undertones, or is caused by policy differences with member governments.

An E.F.T.A. secretariat source today emphasised that Mr Figgures would be returning to an important post in the British Treasury only because he wanted a change after holding the E.F.T.A. job since the creation of the organisation more than five years ago.