I recommend the European Communities (Amendment) Bill, 1984 to the House. The purpose of the Bill is to amend the European Communities Act, 1972 so as to make part of the domestic law of the State, the Treaty amending with regard to Greenland, the Treaties establishing the European Communities. This Treaty which has not been laid before to the Seanad, was signed by all member states of the European Communities on 12 March 1984.
By way of background, Senators will be aware that Greenland, a part of the Danish realm, joined the European Economic Communities in 1973. In a referendum which was held in February 1982 — by which time Greenland had been granted home rule status within the kingdom of Denmark — it was revealed that a majority of the islands population was in favour of Greenland withdrawing from the Community. In particular, Greenlanders were particularly dissatisfied with developments in their fisheries sector since they joined the Community. They felt that member states of the Community had tended to exceed the fish quotas which they had been assigned in Greenlandic waters. Moreover the Greenlanders felt that the value of the catches which were being taken in their waters exceeded the value of Community aid to Greenland.
The Treaty between the Community and Greenland, which was signed earlier this year, provides for Greenland's withdrawal from the European Economic Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. A Protocol to the Treaty provides that, in future, Greenland will be associated with the Community as an overseas country and territory (OCT), once the Treaty comes into force. As an overseas country and territory Greenland will be entitled to certain preferential access to Community markets. In addition to the benefits conferred on it by its status as an OCT, the Protocol to the Treacy also provides that Greenland shall be granted free access to Community markets for its fisheries products. This is particularly important for Greenland given that fish is one of the few natural resources readily available to it.
A further important element in the new arrangements between Greenland and the Community is a fisheries agreement between the European Economic Community on the one hand, and the Government of Denmark and the Local Government of Greenland on the other. This provides for continuing access, by Community fishermen, to Greenlandic waters after Greenland's withdrawal from the Community. In return for this access the Community will pay Greenland 26.5 million European currency units annually during the first five years of the fisheries agreement.
It had been intended that the Treaty amending with regard to Greenland, the Treaties establishing the European Communities would enter into force on 1 January 1985. However, the Treaty provided that, if all of the member states' instruments of ratification had not been deposited by that date, the Treaty would enter into force on the first day of the month following the deposit of the instrument of ratification of the last signatory state to take this step. As a number of member states have not completed their ratification procedures — and are unlikely to do so before the end of this year — an interim regime to govern the relations between the Community and Greenland will be put in place, pending the entry into force of the Treaty. I anticipate that national ratification procedures should be completed in all member states before the end of January 1985, thus enabling the Treaty to come into force on 1 February 1985.
The Bill before Senators today, as I said in my introductory remarks, will amend the European Communities Act, 1972, so as to make part of the domestic law of the State the Treaty amending with regard to Greenland, the Treaties establishing the European Communities. It does so by inserting, in the definition of "the treaties is governing the European Communities" in section 1(1) of the European Communities Act, a reference to the Treaty between Greenland and the Community. For these reasons I commend the Bill to the House.