Before Question Time I was dealing with the problem of information in the various member states of the Community. I indicated that there was a certain faltering of commitment to the Community throughout all the member states. I indicated also that I thought this was due to the fact that the original campaign to unite and to develop a regional and social policy was based on a certain philosophy of idealism. I expressed the opinion that as economics took over, that movement in idealism faltered and that that was the basis for the stagnation which everyone admits now obtains in the EC. I indicated that as Minister for Education I had endeavoured to have the European Ministers of Education agree to what in this context I chose to call uno libro de Europa which would have sections covering each member state and covering all aspects, historical, cultural and economic, of the individual countries.
Denmark has a problem always in that it insists on strict adherence to the letter of the Treaty of Rome and has claimed always that since education was not mentioned in the Treaty no educational initiatives can be taken. This is arguable to say the least since freedom of movement was guaranteed in the Treaty and since one of the most important necessities for freedom of movement is mastery of the major EC languages. However, France, which also has certain reservations, was very anxious that that should happen at that time but nothing has happened since in that regard.
Britain always said they would agree in principle with the necessity for a wider knowledge of the Community, its institutions and the individual countries but claimed that in respect of education — and this is true of the education system in Britain — local authorities defined the content of their curricula. On the occasion of the accession of Spain and Portugal our Departments of Foreign Affairs and Education as well as Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism, should publish facts and statistics about the two new countries at least. They should give information that may be useful to exporters since economics, as it must, raises its ugly head in all areas. I merely want to make that point so far as the philosophic sustenance of the EC idea is concerned.
It is interesting to note that the Spaniards are not as euphoric about the economic advantages of joining the Community as, say, Ireland was in 1973. In the October 14 issue of El Pais in the Economia Trabajo section there is a report that the Government calculate that membership of the Community will cause the Spanish economy to grow by only 0.1 per cent during 1986. This is a far cry from the kind of calculations we were making about our economy in 1973. When considering the Spanish position it is well to have that kind of information. We are — and here Sancho Panza speaks — concerned rightly with the impact of membership of the two new countries on the Social and Regional Funds but we should not run away with the idea that somehow or other Spain is coming in with a begging bowl. There is a report in this paper that the minimal increase in growth contrasts with the result of the studies undertaken in the EC and which envisaged un impacto fuertemente negativo, a strongly negative impact on the Spanish economy of entry. In other words, the studies indicated that Spain would be an economic loser. We should keep that in mind when considering the Spanish entrance.
We should also note that in the edition of 21 October 1985 of El Pais, in the Economía section again there is an interview given by Felipe Gonzalez — Presidente del Gobierno, as he is called — in which he says that Spain will comply with all its undertakings but will demand the exact same from the CE — the EC as we call it. In other words, the President was going on record that when Spain was signing the Treaty it intended to live fully up to the implications. In particular, there was a question of the postponement of the application of our old friend, VAT, which comes out in Spanish as IVA. He said that in no way was he going to ask for a postponement of the introduction of VAT in Spain. Those strong commitments given by him after a long session with Jacques Delors who is the President, as we know, of the European Commission, were an indication of the policy of the Spaniards on the eve of their becoming members of the European Community.
I do not intend to deal with the fish problem because it has been dealt with already by our spokesman, Deputy Daly, and I see here the distinguished representative from south-west Donegal who knows a thing or two about fish and no doubt, will have insights into that which I could not match. Of my own experience, both in the internal market and the operation of fishing, the Spaniards deserve a study, to be looked at in this context. Many years ago as a student, I saw fresh fish on the market in the heartland of the Meseta. There was always an excuse given that one could not get fresh fish in the midland towns in Ireland because they were too far from the sea. We are a very small country compared with Spain and do not have the road or access difficulties that the huge and, in places, mountainous country of Spain has but even as long ago as the early fifties they were able to market fresh fish daily in small towns. There is a lesson there somewhere.
To get an idea of how industrious the Spanish are — and this is where they come in conflict with us on occasion — I remember reading in one of their newspapers perhaps three years ago that their fishermen were in port in three countries in the same week. Ireland was one of them, Algeria another and South-West Africa, somewhere around Namibia, was the third. That will give an idea of the range of their fishing fleet. We have and — Sancho Panza is important here — an obligation to defend our fishing industry, to learn from the Spaniards what we can learn from them but to indicate that we want to defend our own and to develop the industry in the way in which they have developed it, which must command our admiration.
I would like to mention the question of tourism. When I was a student in Spain, 600,000 visitors visited Spain that year — I looked up the statistics. Something between 30 million and 40 million visited Spain last year. At the time about which I am speaking the per capita income here was higher than it was in Spain but Spain has outstripped us in that regard. That is something which people have not realised. Tourism has played a major role in that increase in the standard of living of the ordinary Spaniard. The economists tell us that tourism, money from the United States bases and something with which we are familiar in Ireland, or were and unfortunately are becoming familiar with again, emigrants' remittances, provided a very large income for the Spanish Ministry of Finance.
The fourth point I wish to mention is that the strides which have been made in Spain with industrialisation are hardly realised. They are a heavily industrialised country and very few realise that. Of course, Spain was used as a centre for export by many United States companies, as they used Ireland. There will be something to be watched there with regard to competition. Only a few years ago this country imported a gas heater which Members of this House will know — the Super Ser. That sold all over Europe and was one of the great industrial successes in Spain. There are many others. It is important also to realise that apart from tourism and the emigrant's remittances, there has been a huge increase in industrialisation and consequently, as an ingredient in the political life of the country, a big development of a middle class. It has been argued and admitted, even by Felipe Gonzales and his party, that it is an important factor in the political stabilisation of Spain.
We cannot develop our tourism like that because we have not el sol, which is their big asset. I am not saying that I would like our tourism to be developed as they developed theirs, particularly with the apartamentos and high rise buildings along the Mediterranean. People who knew some of those area, as I knew one, before this happened, are dissatisfied with the result. A taxi driver, to me when I said that to him, made the comment “A view does not put bread on my table”. It was regarded as an economic necessity that that type of development should and did take place. It may have impoverished the environment in certain areas, but it has certainly improved the economy, made more money available to people who needed it and had to start from a very low base.
That particular development in tourism may provide an opportunity for some of our industrialists, in particular those who can process food. The type of tourism which provides apartamentos where tourists purchase food in their local supermercados leads to the purchase of much processed food. I remember searching in shops in the Costa del Sol for Irish goods — Irish processed meat, etc. — but I could not find any. It was there from West Germany, Denmark and Norway. There was only one food item available for sale from Ireland, Kerrygold butter salted and unsalted. We should get information sheets out to our industrialists. There must be a new opportunity now, when Spain and Portugal are joining the EC, for the sale of processed food in that area. It is not chauvinistic to say that we cannot be surpassed in the quality of our meat which is of a very fine quality. I hope the Minister and the Minister for Agriculture keep the artificial stimulants of one kind or another out of our food production because we have an opportunity of providing people with something that they cannot get to the same quality in other European countries. This links in with what I have been talking about. Information right down the line is very important. Information on the industrial and commercial end is very important while not excluding the cultural and educational areas.
Spain will become very important in that it is a solid link with a part of the world which is becoming more and more important ideologically and politically, South America. President Felipe Gonzalez is addresssing himself to forging strong links between Spain and the Central American and South American countries. Spain will prove useful in the councils of the EC in that regard. There always has been a certain rapport between the Spaniards and the Arabs. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Spain attaches importance to that link and that Ministry has also been working in that field for some time. These disjointed remarks on the accession of Spain to the Community may be of some help to the Minister. As I have already said, Spain will comply with its obligations in Europe and will demand the same from the EC. There are other items of economic interest like the huge amounts of money which have been paid out to banks in trouble in Spain since the early eighties. That type of thing will be important to know so that we will know with what kind of economy we are dealing.
I am sorry that I know nothing at all about Portugal and consequently I am not in a position to make any comment on their joining. It would not be appropriate for this House to look at the negative side in relation to the entry of Spain and Portugal. Our links to Spain are important and it is important to emphasise them rather than where we clash. The link with Salamanca University which was a very strong one lasting over hundreds of years could be revived if we want some of our officials to train themselves in the language and in the economics of Spain. Many people have studied at Simancas, a great source of the history of Hispano-Irish relations. We should welcome the Spaniards and the Portuguese, advise them that we will have to fight our own corner when our interests clash but hope for a good relationship which will give an opportunity across the whole spectrum of our life when they become the eleventh and twelfth members of the EC.
