E.E.C. head due in Wellington tomorrow

Press, 14 July 1980, Page 1

E.E.C. head due in Wellington tomorrow

PA Wellington The Common Market’s Agriculture Commissioner, Mr Finn Olav Gundelach, will arrive in New Zealand tomorrow for crucial trade talks. He was invited to New Zealand by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) in an effort to resolve the impasse reached by officials in Brussels over New Zealand’s continued access for lamb to Europe. The Common Market Commission’s proposal to scale down New Zealand's butter sales to Britain will also be an important topic during discussions in Wellington on Wednesday and Thursday. Mr Muldoon has lifted the lamb talks to a political level, because he believes that no additional progress can be made by New Zealand’s negotiators in Brussels. New Zealand wants four or five significant concessions from the Community, including the abolition of the present tariff

on lamb exports to Britain. before agreeing to the E.E.C. sheepmeats regulation. Mr Gundelach will arrive in Wellington late, tomorrow with a group of high-level officials, including the Commission’s Di-rector-General of Agriculture (Mr C. Villain). He will have talks on Wednesday with the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Talboys) and Mr Muldoon, but the main discussions will be on Thursday, in the Cabinet room of the Beehive. The talks will open at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday and continue through a working lunch until 5 p.m. Mr Gundelach has been under a lot of pressure at home in recent weeks, so his programme is free from engagements on Wednesday morning and Wednesday evening. His list of official engagements will end with a dinner at Vogel House on Thursday evening. He will leave New Zealand on Friday.