E.E.C. NEGOTIATIONS West German attitude crucial for N.Z.

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32531, 15 February 1971, Page 14

E.E.C. NEGOTIATIONS West German attitude crucial for N.Z.

(N.Z.P.A. Staff Correspondent)

LONDON, February 13.

The attitude which the West German Government adopts has become crucial for New Zealand in the Common Market negotiations, after the tough stand taken by the French over dairy produce at the latest meeting of the permanent representatives of the Six in Brussels.

France’s position is* that any special arrange- j ment for New Zealand , butter and cheese im- I ports to Britain, should { end after the five-year ' transitional period. < On the side of the fence are , the Dutch, and, according to , reliable sources, the Italians. . This leaves the West Ger- | mans. At the meeting in Brus- | seis last week they apparently , refrained from expressing an , opinion, saying the matter was still under discussion in i Bonn. ; The Germans have gener- ( ally been thought to be in fav- , our of a generous settlement, on the New Zealand ques- ( tion. The argument has been t that they have seen this as one area where concessions | could be made to the British , without basically harming ( the structure of the Com- j munity. J

Now such an attitude is not so certain. West Germany

jhas been at great pains lately not to upset the French and could feel that it is not worth risking a confrontation for the benefit of a few thousand farmers, many thousands of miles away. If this is so, the end result of the present deliberations might produce a formula which would make the still unofficial commission proposals allowing New Zealand to retain 50 per cent of the British butter market at the end of five years, appear positively munificent. If, on the other hand, the West Germans live up to New Zealand’s expectations and oppose the harsh French attitude, it could be that the Six will have great difficulty in coming to agreement among themselves. While not discounting the possibility of an early agreement of a common E.E.C. position, commission sources in Brussels were doubtful the Six would have agreed on a New Zealand solution by the ministerial meeting on March 16. MORE TALKS A more accurate idea of , timing will probably emerge after next Thursday’s meet- . ing of the permanent repre- J sentatives. If New Zealand is ' discussed again, this could be an indication of tile Community’s intention to press ahead . to try and find a proposal to ! present to the British. In London, New Zealand j was mentioned by both the 1 Prime Minister (Mr Heath), 1 and the Foreign Secretary 1 (Sir Alec Douglas-Home), in ‘ speeches to the assembly of 1 the West European Union ! which met at Lancaster 1 House. I

Mr Heath said, “It would surely run counter to the interests of an enlarged Community to emerge from the negotiations with ungenerous policies towards, for example, New Zealand or the developing Commonwealth sugar producers, for if the negotiations are to succeed, the policies towards these countries will be taken as an augury for the future policies of an en- ) larged Community.” TWO VIEWS This appears to be a new i British tack of seeing the market’s attitude toward New Zealand and sugar as “precedent” setting. The Community is extremely touchy over protectionist-charges, ; and Mr Heath is obviously trying to shame the Six out i of sticking a knife in the back of small trading nations for selfish gain. Those in a pessimistic frame of mind, however, might also note that the Prime Minister does not say categorically that “ungenerous” attitudes would automatically mean the failure of the negotiations. Sir Alec Douglas-Home has acknowledged that there is still hesitation on the part of many Britons about joining the Market. “If people feel our partners have shown real understanding of our concern for Commonwealth countries like New Zealand and the sugar growers, and that they have made real efforts to achieve . an equitable financial balance ' for the process of transition, J people in Britain will accept their new obligations' gladly,” he said.