asked the Minister tor Foreign Affairs the special steps the Government are taking to protect this country's common agricultural policy interest and other vital interests in the EEC negotiations on GATT.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - GATT Negotiations.
92.
As required by the Summit Conference in Paris last October, the Council of Ministers of the European Communities is to give a decision before 1st July on the Community's "overall approach" to the multilateral trade negotiations. As the Deputy may be aware, I drew the attention of the council at its meeting on 14/15 May to the necessity for reformulating the commission's draft "overall approach" and in regard to the section on agriculture I stressed that we must not leave ambiguities through vague formulae or even by remaining silent-appearing to suggest that the Community was ready to go back on or to open for discussion the common agricultural policy whose fundamental elements are not negotiable. At the council meeting of 4th/5th June I said that amendments which the commission had put forward following the last discussion had gone some distance towards meeting the pre-occupations I then expressed. In regard to agriculture I stressed again that the document should refer not only to the principles of the common agricultural policy as fundamental achievements of the Community but also its mechanisms and structure. The Deputy may be assured that in the course of the preparation of the mandate on the basis of which the Commission will negotiate on behalf of the Communities, the Government will continue to take every opportunity of ensuring that our vital interests both in agriculture and in industry are protected in the formulation and implementation of the Community's negotiating policies in the course of the negotiations proper.
Apart from his efforts at ministerial council level, has the Minister made any contacts with other member Governments of the Nine which would have interests that would coincide with ours in respect of the CAP?
Yes, I have since my appointment and with this very much in mind had contact with the Foreign Minister of Denmark, the new Foreign Ministers of the Netherlands and France.