Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 5 Rhagfyr 1973.
Does the Minister at any rate think that it is virtually irrelevant to what short-term measures the vulnerable Community of nine decided to take together in dealing with this strong and immediate threat?
My next question concerns regional policy—[Interruption.] The Minister dealt with regional policy and it is a matter of some importance to hon. Members on both sides. Can the Chancellor of the Duchy confirm that the Government proposed that there should be a regional fund, larger than that about which we heard before, of about 3,000 million units of account? If that is so, will he say what reactions came from the other eight member countries of the EEC?
Can he say whether it has now been decided by others that the agreemeent on the regional development fund should be linked with simultaneous agreement on the imposition of rules over State regional aids in the so-called peripheral areas? Is the regional policy free from the other agreement that it would come into effect only if and when the second stage of economic and monetary union was agreed?
On economic and monetary union—[Interruption.] Mr. Speaker, I have some sympathy for the House, but if I may make this observation to you, we have heard a statement, seven pages long, covering not only matters of fuel policy, not only regional policy, not only the second stage of economic and monetary union and the pooling of currency reserves and so on, but, in addition, matters of common transport policies and the whole future relations of the Third World with the general preference scheme of this country.