Thatcher hard line fails to persuade Market

Press, 3 December 1979, Page 9

Thatcher hard line fails to persuade Market

NZPA-Reuter Dublin I The Common Market has won a breathing space to tackle Britain's demand for a reduction in its payments into Community coffers, but at the end of their two-dav summit meeting leaders of | the Nine had no illusions about the chances of suei cess. The British Prime Minister ■ (Mrs Margaret Thatcher) after months of insisting : that the Dublin summit meeting must resolve the problem, went home emptyhanded. The leaders agreed that their next meeting, due to |be held in Brussels in March, could take place a month earlier if there were prospects of settling the issue by then. The French President (Mr. Valery Giscard d'Estaing) said the Dublin meeting began with misunderstanding between Mrs Thatcher and her partners, but ended in, compromise. But the Irish Prime Minis-! [ter (Mr Jack Lynch) who' was chairman of the meet-: ing, remarked: “I can’t say! as of now that there are prospects of improving the (Situation, but time will tell.” Mrs Thatcher repeated, again and again, her demands for a broad balance: between Britain's Common Market budget contributions, and receipts instead of the net payment of the equivalent of $2260 million next! year. Her E.E.C. partners were apparently not convinced.. An official of one delegation called her performance a lot of repetition. A little bit of conciliation might have gone a long way, he added. , Mrs Thatcher decided that the time to talk of con- ! ciliation had not come until just before the end of the meeting. President Giscard said the summit meeting had at i times been close to breakdown, but 15 minutes before the end Mrs Thatcher had . told the eight she hoped an attitude of compromise would prevail at their next meeting. The leaders completely failed to bridge the gap belt ween Britain’s $2260 million [and the rebate of $750 mil- [ lion offered as part of a Community package.