PM Transcripts

6 3/ 006
FOR PRESS-: P. M. No. 11/ 1963
EUROPEAN COMMON MARKET
Statement by the Prime Minister,( t, Ho. R. G. Menzies)
Cabinet today gave consideration to the latest
dramatic developments in relation to the United Kingdom's
application to join the 4. iropean Common Market.
Throughout the long negotiations, we have
ministerially, officially, and publicly presented our interests
and views in a constructive and co-operative way, based upon
two major propositions. The first was that the ultimate decision to
join or not to join would be made by the United Kingdom and
not by us, since we are not direct parties to either the
application or the negotiations.
The second was that we wished to see terms
secured by the United Kingdom which recognised the continuing
importance of protecting our own long-established and vital
trading interests. Those interests remain and, of course,
our anxiety to see them protected remains.
At the same time, we have a sincere feeling of
sympathy for the Government of Great Britain in the manner in
which the negotiations were terminated. It certainly comes as
a great shock that one of the negotiating parties, France~
should have terminated the talks for published reasons which,
if they had been stated originally, would probably have rendered
the whole process of negotiation unnecessary0
We recognise that the British Government will
itself need to sort out the present position. It-may' well take
some wreeks to discover what the effect of France* Lt's a. ctl~ on is
upon the other Member-countries of the Common Market and, for'
that matter, upon the policies of Great Britain herselfi
Our position, which I am communicating to Mr.
Macmillan, is that if the British Government, when it has made
its own assessment of the present position, desires to have
direct discussions with Australia, we will be immediately willing
to engage in such discussions on both the ministerial and
official level. Whatever the immediate European outcome, the
trade relationships between Great Britain and Australia remain
of the liveliest importance though they are of course at present
dealt with by the 1956 Trade Agreement which is still current
and by other existing commodity arrangements. We are not
attracted by the idea of an early Prime Ministerst Conference,
which we think would be in the present relatively confused state
of affairs premature. But as I have said, we will be quite
willing to engage in bi-latere-l discussions whenever they are
sought. Meanwhile, our drive for new and diversified
markets, which has boen vigorously and most successfully pursued
for years, goes on. We have great hopes of better and better
results, particularly having regard to the remarkable degree
of stability in the cost level which has been achieved in
Australia in recent years.
CANBERRA, February, 1963.