n ffi i!{tsrf! r-rh f.r FE-eilts!

Eu e83No.12

re:December 1983

Grisisunder/: ' the sun:'-

"'helpins Nricwr to suwive

b

EUROPE 83

ln this issue...

AfterAthens

Scotland's iob-creation scheme is paying off. By Roy Stemman

Survival crisis under the sun. By Jorgen Harboe

HowEurope is exporting itsknow-howto the Third World

Have you paid over the odds for your new car? By Peggy Crane

Shades of the cinema's golden age

A research centre that's getting it together. By Jack ttr/aterman

Salvation will not come from protectionism, says trade minister Paul Channon

Social Fund shift towards the iobless

Britain and Europe: the story offifteen squandered years. By John Ardagh

Isthe Communitydimensionatrump card-ornot? asksEtienne Davignon

Making music the Feuchtwanger way. By James Hogan

Community Reports

Pro-EEC firms are doing best, says House of Lords committee

A boost for the strip business

Questions in the House

The cash runs out in 1984, says Christopher Tugendhat

UK's small firms are near the bottom of the league

Letters

What's in the papers

EURoFoRUM is inset after page 12

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Published by the Commission of theEuropean Communities, 8 Storey's Gate,LondonS\fllP3AT.Tel:01-2228122Editor-in-Chief: George ScottAssociate Editor: Denis ThomasDesign: Lawrence EdwardsPrinted by Lawrence-Allen Ltd,\tr7eston-super-Mare, Avon

Europe 83 does not necessarily reflect, in allparticulars, the opinions of the Communityinstitutions. Unsigned material may bequoted or reprinted withott payment,subject to suitable acknowledgement.B e fost Off ce : W indsor House,9/15 Bedford Street, Belfast BT2 7EGTel. (0232)240708

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Associated editions:Europe, 2100 M Street, NW,Suite 707, Vashington DC 20037, USATel.202 8629500

Ezrope, 350 Sparks Street, Suite I I 10, Ottawa,Ontario, Canada KIR 7S8.Tel. (613) 238-6464Community Repott, 39 Molesworth Street,Dublin 2,IrelandTel.712244j0Jours d'Europe, 6l rue des BellesFeuilles, 75782 Paris Cedex 16,France. Tel. 501 58 85

Comunitd Europee, Via Poli 29,00187 Rome, Italy .Tel.67897 22

EF -aoisenHljbrohus, @stergade 61,Post Box 144, 1004 Copenhagen K,Denmark. Tel 14 41 40114 55 32

E G M agazin, Zitelmannstrasse 22,5300 Bonn, W. GermanyTel. 23 80 4lComunidad europe4, Serrano,4l-5 a plantaMadrid-1, SpainTel.474 ll99Europaiki Koinotis, 2 Vassilissis Sofias,T.K. 1602, Athens 134, GreeceTel.743982t314E uropa-b eic ht, E U R info,Archimedesstraat 73,1040 Brussel, BelgiumTel.235 4178

Echos de I'Europe, Bitiment Jean Monnet,Luxembourg-KirchbergTel. 4301 1

AmpaToplululu, 13 Boiaz SokakKavaklidere, Ankara, TurkeyTel.27 61 45

UROPE 83

Aftailure ol the EuropeianhuncilisnotaJailureoJtheEuropeianCommunity

A STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

folowing Athens, disappointment is deep: thelairnculti"es were ieal oiris, and now they'haveI been made worse. The failure of a EuropeanCouncil session is not the failure of the Community,Iet alone the failure ofahistorical process that is to en-sure the prosperity and strength of Europe.

The Commission will shoulder its obligations tosecure the preservation of the Community patri-mony, make the vitally necessary progress withoutdelay and establish the conditions needed to reacti-vate the Community.

Preservation of the Community patrimony re-quires that there should not be further uncertaintiesover and above those arising from the Athens Euro-pean Council session. The Commission is anxiousthat the conditions should be established for speedyagreement to adopt the 1984 Budget. As the Euro-pean Council did not decide on the economy mea-sures it proposed, the Commission will take the deci-sions that rest with it and submit to the Council theproposals necessary for the 1984 Budget to be im-plemented.

It is imperative that the decisions be taken on sche-dule that will enable the Community to honour itspledges to itself, to its citizens and to non-membercountries.

It would not be right for the Community to waituntil it had settled all its problems before embarkingon the urgent action necessary to its future develop-ment. Accordingly, steps must be taken forthwith torestore confidence and underpin economic recovery.Quick decisions must be reached on the projects ofCommunity interest the Commission is submitting,delay on which would jeopardise their success.

The Community's obligation to certain social cate-gories, certain sectors and certain regions holds good .

To uphold the Community's interests the Com-mission will continue fully to discharge its responsi-

'Decisions musl betcrken thqtwill enqble the Communitn tohonour irs pledges to itsefi,to its citizens, qild to non-member countries'

";:'#a')goro&rrraii'f,q

&1?*'oo"ro/;,, aJ^:.qg

t4ffflr'ffi:;l:3y,

Floshbock to our November issue:o worning from Goston Thorn.

'\llle musl return to the Treotyprocedures - the only oneswhereby the hiqher fnterestof the Cdmmunitvcqn onceogqin be mqde c6ntrql'

bilities in negotiations with non-member countries.The Commission will act to ensure that the out-

come of the crisis is reactivation of the Community.The prerequisites for this are in the main, wellknown.

The European dimension must be fully turned toaccount. The Community must be afforded thenecessary resources to ensure its development. Alasting solution must be worked out for the budgetproblems. The common agricultural policy must beenabled to perform its function more efficiently. Theresources available must be thoroughly and efficient-ly managed. And there must be enlargement, to in-clude Portugal and Spain.

This involves ending the clash of conflictingnational interests on over-many single unrelatedissues and returning to the Treaty procedures, theonly.ones whereby the higher interest of the Com-munity can once again be made central to the debate.In this way the conditions will be established foragreement.

Europe belongs to its citizens. And its citizens de-mand of their Institutions that they enable the Com-munity to bring about economic recovery and pavethe way for them to look forward to a better future.

ROPE 83

Sco tland' s job-ct@?tionschernerbpayin$olt

Hard-hit by a massive decline in traditionalindustries - particularly shipbuilding and steel -Scotland's jobless are on the increase. But while theindustrial giants are desperately doing their

slimming exercises and shedding large sections oftheir workforces, the EEC is helping to finance a

unique scheme that is givingnewhope-and jobs-to the unemployed, as ROY STEMMAN reports.

lJire scheme has rts orrgrns ln srratn-! aryo" ou, nas alreaoy spreao, wltn srml-

! r"ra"rur,a,tootnerJcol,snregrons. roI rind out how the iciea started, anci why it

has achieved such a remarkable response, Icalledon StrathclydeRegionalCouncil's chiefexecutive, Robert Calderwood, a man whobelieves in working closely with Brussels.

My visit to Scotland was timely. AntonioGiolitti, commissioner for regional policy andco-ordinator of Community funds, had beenin Glasgow the day before to promote anotherEEC-backed scheme to create more iobs. Atthe same time, it was announced that a hugeshipyard on the lower Clyde faced closure andthe loss of 4,400 more jobs in an area which isalready hit by high unemployment. Optimistsare hoping that the yard and the jobs can besaved.

The outcome of talks is awaited eagerly, notleast by Strathclyde Regional Council, whichhas responsibility for the area. Indeed, it pro-vides major local authority services to 272 mil-lion people, which is iust under half the entirepopulation of Scotland.

Strathclyde Region embraces an area in t}rewest of Scotland which includes Glasgow,Ayr, Bute, Dunbarton, Lanark and Renfrew,and most of Argyll. It is the largest regionalcouncil in the country, Robert Calderwoodtold me, with a budget of f I billion - morethan that of some countries.

Its problems are of similar dimensions. InAugust this year, 187,259 people were with-out iobs in Strathclyde. Thatis 17.2 per cent ofthe working population, which comparesbadly with Scotland's average of 14.7 per centand Great Britain's 12.4 per cent. Men weremost affected: one in five does not have a job(20.6 per cent). The unemployment rate forwomen is 12.3 per cent.

Because of the seriousness of the problem,the regional council keeps a close watch onsuch matters, publishing detailed statisticswhich identify economic trends. These showthat the young are particularly badly affected;and the longer a Scot is without a iob the moredifficult it is for him to find one.

'Too level tqlks led to qchq'nqe of heqlt inBruss ls'

In July 1983 it was found that 43 per cent ofthe unemployed were under the age of25, andthat 6l per cent hadnot had a job for more thansix months. One in five of the lobless total inthat month had not been able to find work fortwo years or more.

It was to make a dent in these figures thatStrathclyde Region launched an imaginativeemployment grants scheme in February 1982,backed by money from the European SocialFund(ESF).

'About 272 years ago,' Mr Calderwood toldme, 'a hint was dropped in Brussels that

Bockino iobs in Scotlond: EECco m m iis'loner Anion io Giol itti.

maybe we should explore such a scheme.' Ithad been tried elsewhere in the UK, but on amore limited basis and with far from impress-ive results. Strathclyde's chief executive andsenior members of his staff had lengthydiscussions with their opposite numbers inBrussels, devising a scheme that would enableEuropean money to be used as an incentive toemployers. The plan reflects a change ofheartin Brussels which, at one time, would havebeen reluctant to give grants to proiects in-volving numerous applicants where itwas im-possible for the EEC to check that the moneywas being properly spent.

That responsibility is Strathclyde's.However, all the signs are that the schemeworks well and efficiently. The regional coun-cil began by marketing it in a big way. Some25,000 letters were sent out to companies, in-

viting them to participate, and explainingthat, for every new iob they created, Strath-clyde Regional Council and the EEC wouldiointly pay 30 per cent of the employee's wagesfor the first six months of employment.

The scheme was particularly useful forsmall businesses struggling to be successful ina difficult economic climate. Those em-ploying less than 25 people were able to qual-ify for an employment grant if they took onany unemployed person or someonethreatened with redundancy. Firms withmore than 25 employees had tocreate new f obsfor people who had been without work formore than six months. Recruitment, in allcases, had to be through Job Centres.

The purpose of the exercise was to createadditional and permanent jobs. It was not a

'After tl yeqr,634 ofthe 591 [obs creqtedwere stillthere'

way of financing short-term work, and anyemployer who tried creating a job for a six-month period only, in order to receive thewageassistance, wouldfindhehadtopaybackthe grant. In fact, the scheme has worked re-markably well.

Strathclyde Regional Council and the ESFeach put up f,l million to finance the scheme.In its first year it gave fobs to I ,748 people whomay well not have found work without it. Sogreat was the response to the idea that themoney available was allocated within a coupleofweeks ofthe launch.

Has the scheme fulfilled its purpose andprovided permanent jobs? Strathclyde waitedfor six months after the final payments weremade to the first successful applicants (inother words, after the newly-created iobs hadbeen in existence for a complete year) beforeconducting a survey. It found that ofthe 691jobs created in the first period,634 remained,with the employer now paying the full wage.That is a 9l .8 per cent success rate. lWhat wasequally heartening was that more than three-quarters ofthose iobs (78.3 per cent) were stillbeing done by the original recruit.

The scheme had to be suspended for a six-week period in 1983 because the ESF had notgiven approval for the I 983/84 continuation ofthe scheme. It came through the day before

EUROPE 83

my visit. The EEC money amounts to fI.87million, and the region is putting up S2. I mil-lion. Between them they expect to finance3,500 more new lobs by the end of the financialyear.

'\trile could not have set up such a schemewithout the close co-operation and financialassistance of the Social fund,' Mr Calderwoodexplained. To give credit where credit is due,the ESF's name appears alongside that of theStrathclyde Regional Council in all the prom-otional literature for the Employment GrantsScheme.

Among the many firms which are gratefulfor the support of this imaginative scheme isThorCeramics. MetallurgistJames Thorntonhas been involved in the graphite refractorybusiness for over 30 years. He ran a companyin Scotland for an American group and has

also operated in Sheffield. Two years ago hesaw the growth potential ofcontinuous testingceramics and decided to return to Scotland tostart his own business.

He bought a factory in the Clydebank En-terprise Zone from John Brown, who haderected it 22 years earlier for major shipbuild-ing work, but in recent years have used it onlyfor the manufacture of turbines. The 80,000sqftofproperty, onafive-acresite, was equip-ped with overhead cranes and other essentialservices which made it much easier to get thebusiness started.

Thor Ceramics received a f325,000 grantfrom the European Coal and Steel Commun-ity (ECSC) to help with the venture because itwas creating lobs for unemployed coal andsteel workers. Among those it took on weretwo redundant British Steel men, one a shiftmanager at a steelworks, the other a metallur-gist.

'The EEC hqs beenhelpinq q businessqui'don-ce scheme bnireeting 55 per cent ofits running costs'

In a comparatively short period the busi-ness has expanded rapidly. r07hat Thor Cera-mics has created is a high technology manu-facturing plant which uses isostatic presses(the largest of which cost f 7+ million) to com-pact graphite ceramics and make nozzles andvalves. These are used to control the outflowof steel ladled into continuous testingmachines.

Five years ago, James Thornton told me,there was no continuous steel testing done inScotland. The molten steel was poured intoingots, which were later heated and sent to therolling mills. All that has changed. BSC'sRavenscraig facility has switched to 98 percent continuous testing - which is like a saus-

age machine - in the last five years.li7hat makes the continuous steel produc-

tion method attractive from Thor Ceramics'viewpoint is that the nozzles and valves itrnakes are consumable. After five ladles ofsteelhave passed through them they have to berenewed.

But keeping up with the rapid switch tocontinuous testing, not only in the UK butelsewhere, put additional financial pressureson a company which had already investedheavily in the outright purchase ofits factoryand the installation of new equipment. That iswhere the Strathclyde Employment GrantScheme was of considerable help.

- AND BUSINESS IS BOOMINGDOWN INTHEGTENThere has been such a concentration ofnew technology enterprises in the centrallowland belt of Scotland, from Edinburgh towards Glasgow, that it has becomeknown as the Silicon Glen. Business is booming, and many overseas companies,particularly of Japanese and American origin, have opened manufacturing plants inthe area.

They have been attracted to Scodand not only on account ofits EEC access toEurope, but also because ofthe country's infrastructure and the availability ofa goodworkforce. However, whether producing mainframe computers and theircomponents or devising sophisticated software, the high technology-companies areseldom labour intensive.

Their emergence, often assisted by EEC grants and loans, is important to theScottish economy. In time they could - directly and indirectly - provide a

considerable number of jobs. But so far they have not made much impression on theunemployment figures.

It is expected that by 1984 Scodand will be producing half of the UK's entire outputof semi-conductors. Silicon Glen will house Europe's largest single concentration ofsilicon chip manufacturers.

Nippon Electric Company have built a f40 million silicon chip production plant atLivingston New Town, assisted by a f6 million ERDF grant. The factory, whichcreated 650 new f obs, was opened by the Queen last July. NEC's senior manager atLivingston, Masamichi Shiraishi, has said: 'Having access to Europe was absolutelyessential for us. This plant would not be here if the UK were outside the EEC.'

'It was very useful to have assistance in thisway at a critical time in our development,' MrThornton explained. '\tr7e are very grateful tothose involved in the Strathclyde scheme fortheir help. It has enabled us to create an addi-tional I 5 iobs, bringing our present workforceto 60 people.'

Aswellascreatingnew jobs, ThorCeramicsis also helping our balance ofpayments. It haswon maior export orders in the USA and inseveral European countries) particularlyFrance, Germany and Scandinavia.

Having the money to start a business andpay people to work for you is only half the bat-tle. New businesses, particularly small ones,need the help and advice of experts: profes-sionals who know the pitfalls and the potentialofstarting anew venture and can give valuableguidance.

The EEC has been helping to fund such aservice with a 55 per cent contribution to-wards its running costs. Business PIan Servicebegan in Strathclyde as a pilot scheme with a

[300,000budget from the EuropeanRegionalDevelopment Fund (ERDF) non-quota sec-tion. Participantswerethe ScottishOffice, theScottish Development Agency, financial in-stitutions and the accountancy profession inScotland. The scheme enabled en[epreneursor small existing businesses to commission abasic business plan from private sector busi-ness advisers and 55 per cent ofthe cost, up to atotal of Sl,l00, was paid for them.

It has been very successful, but it did havelimitations. So a more adventurous schemewas launched by Antonio Giolitti on October3 l, 1983. He visited Glasgow to announce theformation of Strathclyde Consultancy Con-sortium, which will give advice across a farwider spectrum to small businesses. Solici-tors, accountants, notaries, translation agen-cies and others, have all agreed to give theirservices at lower than commercial rates. And1500,000 is being given by the ERDF non-quota section to finance the scheme. For everyf I ,000 worth of advice - whether it be market-ing, advertising, translation, legal or accoun-tancy- which a small business receives underthe scheme, the EEC will pay f 550.

Encouragement to expand the scope of theoriginal Business Plan Service came from a

study which showed that something like 73per cent ofthose who sought its help acted onthe advice given - and successfully.

As well as all this expertise, many Scottishbusinesses - if they are situated in the rightplace or creating new jobs in particularly badareas- can take advantage ofEEC loans atveryattractive rates.

No one pretends that the new Europe-back-ed schemes are going to solve the unemploy-ment situation. At best, they might preservethe status quo for a couple of years. What isundeniable, however, is that Scotland badlyneeds to restructure its economy to be far lessdependent on maior industries. By givingassistance to emerging industries in this way,Scotland is pioneering a new approach thatwill be watched keenly - and no doubt copied

-in many other Community countries. E5

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urope cannot stand by and donothing while cattle are dying allover Africa says Steffen Stenberg,who in recent years has been

responsible for administering most of theEuropean Community's aid to Zimbabwe.

Last -vear the Communitl, signed an aidagreemcnt',vith Zimbabrve worth f 17.7 mil-lion. Europe agreed to supply 16,000 tonnesof powdcrcd skimmcd milk and 2,750 tonnesofbutter oil ovcr lirur years, on condition thatZimbabwe adopted a policy that rvould even-tually make it sell--sulfi cient in dairl' products.

But the programme has run into serious dif-ficulties with thc arrir,al of the most disastrousdrought in living memory. Two years of in-adequate rain mcan that three million pcoplc,out of a total population of seven and a hallmillion, are now badly in need of food aid tohelp them meet their basic daill' require-mcnts.

The drought has hit Zimbabwe's livestockparticularlv badl-v. In normal times thev num-ber about live million. A large number arcalrcadv dead from hunger and thirst and most

6

E.rrop."r, Community aidhas been sent to Zimbabweas part of an emergencyprogramme. But the threatto both humans andlivestock remains grave,writesJORGEN HARBOE

of the remaining animals are extrcmclv rveak.Ifnothing is done before the next harvcst in

April, they rvill be too weak to bc used forwork. And that means that there will bc noharvest, sa1's \rale ntine Ziswe, who as dircctorof the charitl, Christian Care is coordinatingthe efforts ol' r rrlunlary organisalit,ns e ,rn-cerned with helping drought victims.

The European Commission's delegation inZimbabwe has dcci.lc.l that it must act rr) lrvand save some of thc livcstock. and the lives o1'

thc pcople who dcpcnd on the animals lbr

e

their survival. 'Wc have asked the (lomrnis-sion to use part of thc moncv earmarked lirrthe dairv operation to be used to save thc anim-als,' savs Stelfen Stcnberg. It would involvcabout one million ECUs.

Thc lbrm the plan would take is not vctfixcd. But the Zimbabwcan Government hasalready started to try and transport animalsliom thc driest areas to parts of the countrvwhere they can lind food. It is also tn'ing tofight thc di:eases that arc nrnning rampanramong Ihe rveakened beasts.

'l'he Commission has alreadv mounted anemcrgcncv aid programme to hclp the threemillion pcoplc afl'ected by thc drought, con-sisting of lbod aid worth two million ECUs.The govcrnmcnt has started distrihuting foodrations to drought victims. but thcre is notenough lbod to go around.

Gor.ernment lbod rations consist of .100

grammcs o1-maizc. -10 grammes o1'bcans and-10 grammes o[ r,cgetable oil per person. Butlast month thcv wcrc fcrrced to cut the maizeration to 200 grammcs. Bean and oil rationshave also heen cut almost evervr.vhe rc.

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EUROPE 83

'lf nothinq is donebefore ne-xl April'shqrvest,the qhimqlswill betooweqktowork'

European Community aid consists of soya

beans treated to suit the needs of the ruralZimbabwean population. Inevitably, the aidwill be spread thinly: this year, vast areas ofAfrica are suffering from drought. As many as

fifteen African countries are facing seriousfood problems.

In Southern Africa, the drought is the mostserious on record this century, according tothe United Nations' Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO). Farther north, thedrought has hit a string ofcountries from theSudan in the East to the Cape Verde Islands inthe\West. Eightcountries are affected. Twoofthem - Mali and Mauritania - have been de-clared disaster areas.

With the exception of South Africa, allfifteen countries concerned are members of

the Lom6 Convention, the cooperation agree-ment linking the community to 63 developingnations.

The drought does not only mean humansuffering for the millions who do not haveenough to eat. It also means a slowing down ofdevelopment. 'life have made great efforts toimprove the living standards of the ruralpopulation, after a civil war which went on foryears. But the drought has caused us enor-mous problems,' says Bernard Chidzero,Zimbabwe's finance minister. Maior prog-rammes aimed at improving public educationand reducing Zimbabwe's dependence on herSouth African neighbour have been on thecards.

But the drought has paralysed most efforts.The government's limited resources are beingused to feed the population. Once, Zimbabwewas a wheat and maize exporter. Now it has topay for food imports.

And the drought problems are going to getworse, according to Valentine Ziswe ofChristian Care. Even in the areas which had aIittle rain last year, food is scarce. Reserveswill run out before the next harvest in April,he says.

How Eurcpe isexpoiling itsknow-howtotheThidWorldThe EEC first participated in a co-funding programme with non-governmental organisations involvedin the Third \$[orld eight years ago,when an experimentannual budgetof2.5 million ECUs was made availablefrom Brussels for relief anddevelopment projects.

The raising ofthat budget to 28million ECUs last year shows theincreasing involvement of theCommunity, at non-official level, inthe area of Third Vorld aid. Therelationship between the Communityand the non-governmentalorganistions (NGOs) has to date beenresponsible for l, I 16 profects in 106

developing counuies.It would be a mistake, however, to

assume that the work of the NGO'sLiaison Committee, which meetsseveral times a year in Brussels,involves merely the acceptance anddistribution of funding. Accordingto the Committee'sformer IrishChairman, Brian McKeown, who isDirectorofTrocaire in Ireland andwas formerly chairman of theCommittee from 1979 to 1981,'Co-funding with the EEC is only oneaspect of total NGO cooperationwith the Community.'

'I7hen NGOs first became involvedin co-funding, we wanted to get acrossthe message within the EEC thatdevelopment education was of equalimportance in the Third l0[orld. Ittook about two years to achieve this-but we have been successful. ![e alsodecided to become involved in order tohelp the Commission make moreuseful policies on the countries we aredealing withr'he says.

'Another aspect of our involvementis the Committee's input to the EEC'sdevelopment policy. t0(e are all thetime trying to influence theCommission and other bodies inEurope on policy, and we havemanaged to build up a goodrelationship with importantinstitutions such as the EuropeanParliament and the ACP Secretariat.The Committee alsoplayed animportant part in the re-negotiation ofthe Lom6Convention.'

DONALBYRNE

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Food is being distributed; but there is not enough to go round.

EUROPE 83

Haveyou paid over theoddsioryournewcrlr?

I n l98l the Eurooean Bureau of! Coo.,-.r, Uoiloo"-"

"onsortium of

! Qommuniqy consumer organisations -I published for the 6rst timl a comparisonof carmanufacturers' price lists inCommudty countries. The variations werestartling. British carprices of both homeand foreign makes were tte hiefiest inEurope, ranging some 30 to 50per centhigher than the lowest basic price inBelgium.

The situation has hardly changed sincethen. In October 1983, Commissioner Christ-opher Tugendhat announced that today inBrussels he could buy an Austin Metro 1000somef,l,410 clzeaperthanin theUK. !9hat aniniustice it is for the British tax payer to digheavily into his pocket, he declared, to subsi-dise the production ofBL can - and, at thesame time, to be told that he has to pay morefor them, even before taxes, than foreignersless than 90 miles from our coast!

Before 1981 only a few people had realisedthe advanuge of a trip abroad to buy their newcar. After the BEUC report a trickle became aflood. In the UK, parallel imports - carsbrought in other ftxa lfuprrgh official dealerchannels - g'sv from a few thousand in 1979to an estimated 70,000 in 1982.

This threat to their distribution networkhas alarmed the car manufacturers and trad-err, and they have treen fighting to stem thetide. Today, it is harder to obtain a riCht-hand-drive car from Continental showrooms,and even when models meet the registrationspecifications required in Britain, they areoften subject to long delivery delays, higherthan normal deposits, and no warantyguarantees, so that the discouraged customermay decide to buyhisnew carin Britainafterall.

Complaints from BEUC and active supportfrom the European Parliamentpersuaded theEuropean Commission that, in the interests ofCommunity competition policy, tle situationneeded review. Earlier this year it produced adraft measure designed to clarif legitimatemotor vehicle and servicing agreemens andthe rights of Community citizens to buy cars,with appropriate domestic specifications,where they like in the Community.

In addition, the Commission has tried tograpple with variations in basic list prices. Itproposes that, where a basic price, excludingtaxes, exceeds 12 per cent ofthe lowest modelprice in the Community for a period of sixmontts, parallel imports would be automati-callyallowedthus, ineffect, by-passingtheof-ficialnetworks.

The Commissiou's draft legislation hasbrought forth a crescendo of anger andanguish from the industry's European orga-8

Recent consumerrepoftsrevealthatBritish carmanufiacturers are stilldefying Community lawsaimed at fair competition.PEGGY CRANE has beenstudying the arguments ofthe opposingparties

aisations such as the EC Committee of CarManufacturers (CCMC) and the LiaisonCommittee of Car Manufacturers (CLCA).But it has been welcomed by BEUC, and bynational consumer organisations such as theNational Consumer Council and the Consum-er Association in the UK, as well as by theEuropean dealers' association. The situation,ttrerefore, appears to be a suaight clash be-tween producer and consumer interests. Thebackground, however, is complex and stud-ded with vested interests.

Community competition rules, as set out inArticles 85 and 86 of the Rome Treaty, arevery clear. They prohibit restriction or distor-tion of competition or abuse of a dominantposition withirl the courmon market. Provi-sion is made, however, for exemption fromthese rules if agreements contribute 1s imFro-ving the production or distribution ofgoods,or to promoting technical and economic prog-ress, so long as consumers are allowed a fairshare ofthe resulting benefit. Such arrange-ments, to be acceptable, must not impose res-trictions which hinder the attainment of theseob jectives, nor must they allow the possibilityof eliminating competition in respect of a sub-stantial part ofthe products concerned.

Since 1965 the Commission, whose respon-sibility it is, has accepted that, in view ofthespecial circrt-stances of the motor trade,most of the restrictious of competition in-herentin the manufacturer/dealer and servic-ing arrangements that are couunon through-out the industry, fulfil the exemption condi-tions laid down in the Treaty and, indeed,most have been notified to and approved bytheCommission.

The Commission iustifiestlese exemptions

Theqim istoenobleconsumers Io brY neu7crrrg whe_rever pficesqnd conditions oremoslfovourqble'

on the grounds that motor vehicles are con-srrmer durables which at various intervalsrequire expert maintenance and repair, notalways in the same place. Selected or en-franchised dealers and repairers provide forspecialised servicing oftle product and, ongrounds ofcapacity and efEciency alone, suchforms of co-operation cannot be extended tox1 rrnlimilsd number of dealers and servicestations.

Further, competition in the motor tradetends to focus oninter-brand competition be-tween rival distribution networks, offeringthe consumer a proper choice. But competi-tionwiththebrandnetworksissometimeslessobvious; and it is in this area that the Commis-sion is concerned to lay down ground ruleswhich have upset the motor industry.

The aim is to enable consumers to buy newcars wherever prices and conditions are mostfavourable. Such an option, in the Commis-sion's view, would require that dealers shouldbe less dependent on themanufacturerorim-porter than most are now; that customersshould be able to have their vehicles servicedunder the manufacturer's warranty anywherein the common market; and that customersshould be able to order cars with the necessaryspecifications for domestic regisuation fromofEcial dealers in other Community countrieswho are willing to sell the vehicles to them, ifthe manufacturer or his imForter sells themodel concerned through the of0cial dis-tribution network at both places. This lastcondition is intended to stop manufacturers orimporters trying to prevent or hinder sales ofright-hand-drive versions oftheir cars on theContinent.

The CCMC argues that such moves wouldstrike a wounding blow to their distributionnetworks and guarantees of after-sales ser-vices . Car manufacturers also resent the Com-mission's attempt to interfere with pricinganangements in different Community coun-try markets. Variations in basic price lists,they clri-, are influenced by factor's outsidetheir control, such as exchange rates, levels ofinflatiou, and government price freeze poli-cies (as in Belgium) which distort the marketand to which the industry has to adapt ifit is tobe competitive. Any attempt to limit thesevariations by legislation would not only proveunworkable, but could prove detrimental tothe industry and the consumer.

The consumers' unions flatly contradictseveral of these assumptions. BEUC claimsthat, whatever the arguments about exemp-tions, under Community law a private citizenhas a legal right to buy an approvedmodel inwhatever EC country the manufacturer or im-porter offrcially trades. It has evidence,however, of positive discouragement of sales.

UROPE 83

A General Motors' main dealer in Belgium,forinstance, wasdeprivedofhis concession onOpel cars for having supplied right-hand-drive cars to British customers. In other cases,dealers refused to sell to foreign customers fol-lowing pressure from BL in Belgium and thegeneral distributor of Ford in Germany.BEUC referred both cases to the Commissionas infringements of Community competitionpolicies.

In the German case the matter was referredto the European Court of Justice which, in aninterim ruling, recently confirmed by Com-mission Decision, required the company tosupply right hand drive cars, which it nowdoes. In February 1983 theCommissioninter-vened, under Community competition rules,to require Ford's'West German distributors towithdraw advertisements that guaranteework would not be carried out on new Fordcars reimported after being purchased else-where in the Community. The advertise-ments were withdrawn in May.

The consumer organisations are also con-cerned about spare parts. BEUC points outthat, once the customer has bought a car, he orshe is obliged to use the spare parts of thatmake or intended for that make of car. Underpresent arrangements, competition is practi-cally eliminated in the spare parts market, andconsumers can find themselves in difficultiesas spare parts do not readily lend themselves toparallel imports by individuals. According toBEUC, apart from the United Kingdom andItaly the national spare parts markets are orga-nised along lines 'which border on sheer swin-dle'. As an example it quotes the situation inFrance, where the spare parts which go tomake up a Ford Escort cost four times as muchas the selling price of the assembled vehicle.

The Commission's proposed legislation

Prieesnetoftaxes as at 25r0crober 1983As%ofBelgianprice ..,,Fian.ct:...FGR UKAustin Meuo 1000 L 106 109 149

BMW320i 114 114 tt7CirroenGsAPallas ll3 lll 136

,,FlatPanda4s 116 134 t37

FirrdBocortXR3i. ,...i::t::':',r . Il5 116 l3ZMazda 323 GT 1.5 126 ll} 147

OpelKadett 1.6S&: r::rl,r'l' :'' ' 112 114 . .138

Peugeot 305 GL ,, 109 ll2,r.*tRenault 5 GTL 109 ll2i.:trtl36VolkswagenGolfGTl 105 ll3 136

Average 112 I 15 138

repairers who do not belong to the official net-works to obtain, without any restrictions, thespare parts ofthe official makes for resale andfor repairs.

BEUCalsochallengesthemotortradeonitscase for price variations. It alleges that ex-change fluctuations and inflation levels areonly marginal to basic price levels, and thatnational importers fix their prices, adjustingthem (often downwards, to improve ttreirpenetration) to the prices ofnational produc-tion. In the UK, where dominant Britishmanufacturers' costs are high, the prices areadjustedupward.

This has led two conservative MEPs,Richard Cottrell and Christopher Jackson, tocall Britain 'the honeypot market for the carbuildersof theworld'. Theyclaimthatin 1980

- and the situation has barely changed - highcosts in Britain added up to a'massivef 1.4 bil-lion surcharge on British car buyers'ofwhichBL collected a mere !280m. The remainingprofit went to foreign makers.

The picture could change significantly ifnational governments were prepared to adoptCommunity-type approval regulations forwindscreens, tyres and towing weights thathave been lying around the Commissionoffices a long time. Such legislation would re-move one ofthe greatest obstacles to free tradeinmotorcars and stop finicky import controls.The result would inevitably lead to greaterconvergence in basic price lists underpressureof freer trade; but it would not, of course,affect the equally wide variations in taxes thatnational governments impose on their ownresident buyers.

BEUC claims that the consumer movementhas already forced car manufacturers to slowdown the rate of price increases in the UK and

New.iarpdces

Source: BS,Ue,, .'

would open up this market by allowing repair-ers and dealers a free hand in obtaining spareparts from third parties, provided theymatch-ed or exceeded the quality ofthose offered bythe official contractor. BEUC would like theCommission to go further by banning all ex-clusive purchase and delivery arrangementscovering spare parts. This would enable of-ficial distributors to sell, and to use for repairs,without restriction, all spare parts, whatevertheir make. It would also enable retailers and

'The consumermovement hqsqlreqdy forced cqrmsnufacturers lo slowdown the rqte of oriceincreqses in the tIK'

g

rcetu

'All right if I moke the cheque out in ECUs?'

ROPE 83

S.F

French film of a gardener wateringflowers, and the antics ofa boy whostands on the pipe and interruptsthe flow, may not be hilarious by

modern standards. But it is preserved in theNational Film Archive with loving care,and for very good reasons,

L'Anoseur Anosde - all66 feet of it - is theoldestfilminBritain's nationalfilm archive. Itwasmade bya Frenchman, Louis LumiBre, in1895, and is one ofthe first pieces ofslapstickcomedy on film. A year later Queen Victoriasaw her first 'animated pictures' at WindsorCastle-accordingto PrinceCharles, patron ofthe British Film Institute, which is celebrat-ing its 50th anniversary this year.

The Prince of lWales referred to the royalfi.lm show at a dinner in London's Guildhalllast month, when he presented fellowships tosix people who have made maior contribu-tions to the film industry. Three Britons (oneof them David Lean), a Frenchman, an Indi-an, and an American were honoured at theceremony.

The American was Orson Welles, whosefilmCitizen Kaze has been voted the mostout-standing fllm ever made in all the polls con-ducted by the magazineSight& Sound,whichthe BFI publishes.

But there is much more to film than the im-ages it creates on the silver screen. News stor-ies about new productions and interviewswith their stars or the producers appear everyday. TV programmes examine the industryand show us clips. Books are written about the

l0

6c-I@

-Ei!6C.eGz

cial onJine information service to be calledSIFT (Summary of Information on Film andTelevision), which could well be made avail-able on Euronet DIANE and other appropri-ate systems elsewhere in the world.

A detailed feasibility study is now being car-ried out, as a preliminary step towards theestablishmentof the databank, with a f 15,000grant from the Department of Trade and In-dustry.

To find out more about tie BFI and thedatabank which it plans to establish over thenext five years, I visited its Charing CrossRoad offices, in London, and spoke to GillianHartnoll, head of library services, who waslargely responsible for making the successfulapplication for a grant to Brussels. It is herpart oftheoperation which is the subiectofthepresent study.

The scene that greets visitors is typical ofany busy library: rows of books, avenues ofstacked drawers, f,ling cabinets and cup-boards. On the public side of the receptioncounter, microfilm viewers are in great de-mand. Images on the screens are constantlychangingas students examine newspaper clip-pings for the information they are seeking.Every so often a photocopy of the displayedcutting slides effortlessly from the top of theviewer.

It all looks so easy - as indeed it is for thosewho use the BFI's information services. Butinevitably, a lot of work has to go on) unseen,to make all this material available to those whoneed it.

The British Film Institute'sarchive already houses theworld's biggest collection ofmovieana. A recent grantfrom the EEC will help it toextend its service to publicand film-buffs still further

epics and the malor personalities from Monroto McQueen.

All of it is carefully monitored and stored bythe BFI, to be used by the industry or resear-chers. Now, with the advent of sophisticatedinformation technology, the Institute is look-ing at ways of storing and indexing this andother material in a way that will make it moreeasily accessible - not only to its own staff atthe sites where it is kept, but also to others,anywhere in the country, using on-line view-data services.

Funding for this project will include a

f 129,000 grant from the EEC's Information,Market and Innovation Division.

The European money will make a notablecontribution towards the cost of feeding in-formation about 150,000 sound feature films,including all post-war Community produc-tion, into a databank. It will also help financethe development and marketing of a commer-

ROPE 83

'To keep up to dotethe lnstituie tqkes400 iournols from38 countries'

Gillian Hartnoll took me behind the scenesfor a glimpse of the department in action. Ourfust visit was to the room in which all the cut-tings are transferred to microfilm. The pro-cessed items, each smaller than a finger nail,are then filed in easy-to-handle form. Knownas microjackets, they are little bigger than a

standard index card, yet hold 20 or moreminiaturised pages of cuttings.

Microjackets are filed in three categories.There are 50,000 on films, 30,000 on TV prog-rammes, and 23,000 about people. To keepthem up-to-date the BFI takes 400 journalsfrom 38 countries and indexes 300 of them.The national press, and broadcasting four-nals, are the subject of close scrutiny by thescissor-wielding indexers. In the year 81/82,54,000 newspaper clippings were snipped,microfilmed and indexed, iust to keep abreastofthe latest events.

In recent years film culture has slipped intotelevision and video. 'All the boundaries aregoing,' Gillian Hartnoll explained, 'and thereis sure to be further merging and shifting.'TheBFI haskeptin stepwith the changes thatare occurring. Since 1975, for example, it hasbeen indexing TV Times and Radio Times. halso monitors a number of European TV four-nals, mostly to record documentary or newsprogramme items.

As well as making access to this informationeasier, microfilming drastically reduces wearand tear on the original cuttings, which arealso stored. Indeed, much of the BFI's work isconcerned with preserving originals -whether film, advertising posters or pressbooks - in the best possible condition. Sadly,though, the ravages of time, and the handlingof celluloid and paper, have taken their toll.Forexample, the 170 millionfeetoffilmin theNational Film Archive - part of the BFI -which was recorded on nitrate stock is decom-posing - and will continue to do so, eventhough the Archive keeps this vast collectionin over 200 specially-constructed nitratevaults at Gaydon, \(arwickshire.

The Institute is copying them all; but at thecurrent rate of 5-6 million feet a year it is goingto take another 20 years or more. It also has I 8million feet of Tripack colour film (growing 48million feet in the next five years) which is fad-ing with the passage of time. By 1987 it willhave 6,000 hours of videotapes, which mayalso have begun to deteriorate.

Keeping track of all this film has hithertobeen on record cards at the Archive's AstonClinton site, its oldest out-of-London loca-tion, which is bulging at the seams with400,000 cards. These will form an importantpart of the British Film Institute's new com-puterised data base.

Above: Mqrlene Dietrich in'BlueAnoel'. 1930. The'Kino Kono' ooster isforihe'originol version-, mode in 1 933.

Opposite: o stillfrom ihe clossic'Cbbinet of Dr Coligori', I 91 9.

m*t*$st

$fle walked to the neatly stacked card indexfiles and she quickly found the correct drawer(the films are filed in alphabetical order). Itwas the original card, produced by the Insti-tute 44 years ago. Dog-eared and crammedwith information, it recorded the film's pre-midre in Atlanta, USA, on 15 December,1939, along with details of its production, itsstars and its re-issues. Books written about themaking of the film were also listed.

Soon, this information will be available ondesk-top display units linked to a central com-puter. And, in time, film buffs throughoutthis country and Europe will be able to gain ac-cess to the BFI's incredible store of knowledgeabout films and filming - thanks in large partto financial help from the EEC.

The original print of Gone lVith the lVind,incidentally, is in good condition. Its makers,MGM, aware that their classic product couldwell live up to its title and deteriorate badly,have placed the original (along with other 'oldmasters') in a salt mine.

ROYSTEMMAN

u

*fid

d

The BFI'stills'collection will also be inte-grated into the new databank. The scope ofthis fascinating collection can be seen from theCatalogue of Stills, Posters and Designs: analphabetical list of 37,000 films and 10,000directors, together with a chronological list oftheir productions for which Stills can supplymaterial. It took three years to compile.

All this and much more information,together with records held by the DeutschesInstitutfiir Filmkundeand the Deutsches Fil-museum in Frankfurt, will be incorporated inthe new databank. There will be two millionreferences to periodical articles, books andpamphlets in 15 languages as well as all thefilm records.

Until the arrival of onJine technology,however, the BFI will continue to rely on awell-tried and trusted method of storing in-formation. Gillian Hartnoll offered to showme the record card of Gone lVith the \Vind -topical because it was due for its second televi-sion screening a couple of days later, andwould soon appear as a video.

A res earch centre lhat'sgettingitto$elher

An advanced engineeringestablishmentnearCambridge is helpingEuropean industry bydeveloping and perfectingthe very latest weldingtechniques.JACKWATERII'IAN has beentosee how it works

eter Houldcroft , Director ofResearch at the \[elding Instituteat Abington Hdl, near Cambridge,keeps areplica ofa stone-age axe in

hisoffice.It looks very authentic: a wooden haft , with

thongs binding the stone axe-head in place. Itoccurred to me as he was showingthe axe thatmy notion of welding - shared possibly withthat of most of the non-engineering popula-tion - was about ari stone-age and out-of-dateas the rawhide thongs on view. Even thephrase \?elding Institute had coniured up theimage of a sort of depressed building coweringbehind a foundry in the back streets of\fakall.

How wrong I was. The l7elding Institutehas a tlrumming sense of purpose, an atmos-phere ofhigh organisation, and, not least, a

history of much achievement. More than 5fi)people work on its 35-acre site; and this year itwill spend f,10 million. Is nrro thousand com-pany and five thousand individual membersand contributors represent an entire spectrumof British industrial activity, particularly inthe engineering sector, and include a greatnumber of firms and organisations from EECcountries and other parts of the world, notablytheUSA.

Asfaras Europeis concerued, iointprojectsare conducted with the French lfelding Insti-tute; there is co-operation with the UniversityofAachen; and a European joint body, theEuropean Research Institute for Welding,meets and discusses proiects ftat mighl !sdone collectively. Currently, several proiectsare being underuken for the EEC.

TheVelding Institute was founded in 1923as the Institution ofVelding Engineers. Aftera rather complicated series of organisationalchanges it reachedits present formin 1968, as

a unique combination of a professional bodyand a co-operative research association withinthe same organisation based at Abington, andwith offices in London. It is now the largestwglding research organisation in the westernworld, and more than a quarter of its income

T2

comes from overseas.In a uouble-shooting capacity its staff are

available to go anwhere in the world at shortnotice (for gxample, when a tanker broke intrro in ice offthe Canadian coast). It is a maiorproducer of bosks aud fi lms, and an organiserof seminars and conferences, as well as a train-ing cenue for all aspects of wel.ling and non-destructive testing.

One of its facilities concerns micro-joining,a unique resource providing the manufactur-ers of minianrre devices in the electronics,elecuo-mechanical, elecuical and instru-mentation industries with support in a num-ber of ways from problem solving, throughcontract research and development, to theconstruction of special purpose machines.

As Peter Houldcroft put it: 'Things havegot bigger and thicker, and the consequencesof failure have grown in recent years. Thatmeans that methods of ioininghave to bemoreprecise andreliable. You could saythat agreatdeal of our work is to do with the safety ofwslding in the service environment.'

The growth ofthe Instituteisamirrorofthecomparatively rapid and recent emergence ofwelding and its dramatic development since

'Over t800,000 frqmihe Europeon Coolqnd Stee'l Communityhqs been contributeilin the lqstfewyeors'

the late l9th century, when it began to over-uke the activities of the blacksmith. In the be-ginning, alme$ !y xgsident, weldi.g techni-ques were discovered as aresultofattempts toprovide high-iilsnsity ligbting, notably in thetheafte.

On the way to today's sophisticated tech-nology the Second \[orld War (when weldingwas just emerging as an industrial process)saw advances, including 16s Suilding of thewelded 'Liberty' merchant ships in the USA-and failures in them drew attention to fractureproblems for welded structures.

For the Pluto pipeline, which supplied a

million gallons of petrol per day from the UKto the Normandy beach-heads, nearly a

thousand miles of 3-inch diameter pipe wereflash welded, including 200,000 welds. Weld-ing proved how effective it was in savinglabour and time, and reducing weight: a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun mounting took 348 man

hours by riveting, and weighed 23 cwt. Withweldi.g, the time was 95 man hours, and

weight 18 cwt.Vork at the Welrting Institute has had an

imponant bearing on the development of oilrigs. There are now more than 150 offshorein-stallations in the North Sea alone, and, whilethe bulk ofthe f,820,000 from the EuropeauCoal and Steel Community within the last fewyears, for work done at the Velding Institute,has been under the non-specific heading of'new techniques for joining steel', some hasgone towards investigating the properties ofwelds made under water. Thus EEC moneyhashelped tomake the rigs safer.

One of the problems that beset oil rigs, fair-ly predictably, is corrosion. In a large tank atAbington, work is going on to counteract it,with investigations into friction wel.li.gunderwater lugs forming aluminium and zincanodes that slow up the corrosive process.

In another laboratory, 1xsg1 \rglding wasgoing on. I examined the results: stainlesssteel ioined atnost imperceptibly. Said PeterHouldcroft: 'W'e have developed a laser herethat became a commercial possibility. It pro-duces beautifirl narow welds, and youwouldn't be able to do it any other way.' Thefirst laser was successfully operated in 1960and, initially, the microelectronics industryrecogrnissd ths poteutial of laser welding, butwith increase in power (the Institute operatesa relatively large 5kw process) ttre aerospaceindustryadopteditbecauseollSshigh qualityofweldproduced.

In yet another laboratory was the biggestand most impressive piece of equipment onthe site, designed and built since 1978 by theInstitute.

Resembling an enormous oven, twenty feethigh by twenty across, itis ahighpower Elec-tron BeamI7elder, operated witha 75kw elec-tron gun, and affording research members anopportunity to evaluate electron beam weld-ing in heavy engineering. It can go thro'Ehsix- to eight-inch steel quite comfortably,Peter Houldcroft told me.

This particular process had its first success-ful applications in welding nuclear and jet en-ginecomponents.

Now it is used in the automobile industryfor a variety of applications, inglgdin g fabrica-tion of intricate gear assemblies x1 high pro-duction rates. The nuclear industry makes useofitbecauseofalowlevelofdefectsthatcanbeachieved.

I was taken finally to the latest laboratory,opened by HRH Prince Charles only threeyears ago, in which advanced work is beingcarried out on welding thick materials - in-sludin g a rather amazing process called'diffir-sion bonding'. This is a technique which en-ables metals to be ioined direcdy one toanother, or sometimes with another metal as

'sandwich'.\[ittr the record of the Vel.ling Institute in

consistendy plsviding success for the future,there seems little doubt that, one day, diffir-sioubondingwillbe anotherwinner. Afterall,even in the Stone Age, there must have beenmen who doubted whether raw-hide thongswouldeverwork! Kl

This contract-the Lom6 Convention- is unique. No other country, or group ofcountries, in the industrialised worldhas ever made such a wide-ranging,Iong-term commitment to any of itsThird World neighbours. There is nodoubt that the contract will be renewed.Both sides are well aware that they needeach other now more than ever before.But they also know that times havechanged since they first began coopera-tion.

Economic recession, crashing com-modity prices, soaring debt, high in{la-tion, increased protectionism and thesqueeze on development assistancehave combined to aggravate the situa-tion in the Ttrird World, and put moreand more pressure on [,om6 to respond.Both sides fear that, if Iom6 is notadapted to these changes, it could crackunder the weight ofits gigantic interna-tional responsibility.

Lom6 must be improved. But how?This is the question both sides werethrashing out within the negotiationsfor the next Convention which hasopened in Luxembourg on October 6.

The First Lom6 Convention came into

force in February 1975. Itwas sigrred be-tween the EEC's nine member statesand 46 oftheirformer colonies inAfrica,the Caribbean and the Pacific for aperiod offive years. In 1980, Lom6 II - anew, improved and extended version ofthe original contract - was concluded,this time between the EEC and 57 ACPstates. As proofofthe importance placedin Lom6, ACP membership has now in-creased to 63. Angola and Mozambique,the only two African states south of theSahel which are not members, areecpectedtojoin forthe next Convention.

The task set for Lom6 was by nomeans easy. The ACP states are a di-verse group. They have very differentproblems but one common denominator- underdevelopment. They include

'More ond moreimoortonce is beinqpldced on food' -

countries such as oil-exporting Nigeria- which at one time was said to be readyto contribute to the Lom6 funds - andimpoverished Mali, one of the world'sleast developed countries. iny clusters ofislands in the Pacific gather under theLom6 wing. The Caribbean, thefavourite, after South East Asia, for eco-nomic growth, completes the EEC's his-toriclinks.

Through Lom6, these countries canrest assured that, for five years, they areguaranteed not only cash to aid their de-velopment, but also technical assist-ance, training, expert advice, food aidand speedy supplies of medicine, blank-ets andprovisions to help cope with des-truction caused by natural disasters ortheir immense refugee problems.

The European Investment Bank pro-vides loans for industry, energy andmining. Inm6's SYSMIN scheme offersaid to keep mining industries on theirfeet. The Centre for Industrial Develop-ment gets ACP and EEC businessmentogether to talk about joint ventures.And the European Commission tries toencourage other aid organisations tolendahelpinghand.

In all, more than 5 billion ECUs is cur-rently being spent trying to raise hun-dreds of millions of people above thepovertylevel.

But the [,om6 Convention is morethanjust an aid contract. Tlade is one ofthe most important keys to a country'ssurvival; but, in these times ofeconomicdepression, markets are hard to find andprices are low. The Lom6 Conventionattempts, as far as possible, to keep theEEC market open for ACP goods. Over99 per cent of ACP products enter theCommunity duty-free. ACP sugar pro-ducers are offered a guaranteed market,at prices often higher than the worldlevel.

Special treatment is given for ACPrum, bananas and beefand, ifdisasterstrikes, the EEC, through its specialSTABEX scheme for keeping ACP ex-port earnings afloat, will provide com-pensation for those hardest hit.

Apart from granting favourabletreatment for ACP trade, the Lom6 Con-vention underlines the importance ofgrowth and expansion in ACP trade.TYadepromotionprogrammes are setupand intra-ACP trade is encouraged.

A new report, published by the Com-mission, shows exactly how the aidgrantedin 1982was spent. Itboasts'suc-cessfirl progress' throughout the yearwith a total of l.L billion ECUs commit-ted either for development projects,

Background to Lom 6 -a uniquecontract betwe en nationsEight years ago, in a small seaside city o! Africa's west coast,55 government ministers from north and south of the globegafhered to sign a contract. They came from countries as farapart as Ireland, Fiji, Italy, Ethiopia, Luxembourg and theB-ahamas. The contract, inwhichthe EEC, forafive-yearperiod, guarantees aid and trade preferences for the poorestdeveloping countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific,was renewed in 1980. It runs out in February 1985.

'Morethqn 5 billionECUs is spenttrvinqto rqise liundre'ds o'fmillions of peopleqbove povbrty level'

DECEMBER1983 (i)

EUR,OFOII,UM

'lt is recoqnisedthqt oid ii the posthqs been bodlymonoged'

compensation for falls in export earn-ingsoras emergencyaid. This was near-ly twice the amount committed in 198L.Almost 50 percent ofthis wentto aidru-ral development, reflecting the newhigh priority given to this sector. But,despite the new trend towards agricul-ture, industrialisation is still an impor-tant part ofACP development.

A total of330 million ECUs was spentin this sector in 1982. Tlansport andcommunications, especially in the ruralareas, are also vital. Many of the ACPstates are land-locked and need access tothe sea. Others are island states andneed improved air and maritime trans-port. Aid provided for this sector in 1982totalled 1 12 million ECUs. Some 65 mi]-lion ECUs went on education and train-ing programmes, 40 million ECUs werespent on water engineering and urbandevelopment and 1lm ECUs went toprojects designed to improve health con-ditions in the ACP states.

The range ofproject financed by Lom6funds is vast. It can vary from large-scale regional projects, such as the ambi-tious transport network in East Africa,tourism promotion in the Caribbean,geological researeh in West Africa andtelecommunications projects in thePacific, to small-scale water-supply pro-jects in Swaziland and Somalia, fish-farming in Benin, coconut planting inVanuatu and animal health projects inSouthernAfrica.

But, above all, more and more import-ance is beingplace onfood. The Commis-sion recognises the fact that, withoutfood, no underdeveloped country caneverhope to achieve self-sufficiency, theultimate aim of every independantstate. This is the objective of the EEC'snew food strategy approach to develop-ment, which got underway in 1982.

The ACP reaction has been encourag-ing. Mali, Kenya, Rwanda and Zambiahave already begun setting up foodstrategy prograrnmes and more andmore countries, particularly in Africa,are calling on the EEC for aid in thisarea.

But despite its international acclaim,the Lom6 Convention has not alwayslived up to ACP expectations. Iom6trade provisions, for example, have dis-appointed the ACP states. As pointedout by Ambassador Mulokozi of Tanza-nia,'in spite ofthe apparent ease ofac-cess to Community markets, the ACPtrade balance with the Community has

Commissioner Pisoni: 'o lifelongcommitment'?

steadily worsened.Lom6's prized STABEX system for

stabilising ACP export earnings hasalso come under fire. The beginning ofthe 1980s was a disastrous time for com-modities. Falling demand caused pricesto collapse to their lowest level in 50years, and ACP export earnings fol-lowed suit. The ACP states turned toSTABEX for aid but there wasn'tenough money inthe bank.

In 1982, the second year ofthe com-modity crisis, the EEC member statesagreedto upthe STABEXfunds. An ex-tra 70 million ECUs were added to the112 million ECUs available. But thiswas only able to cover half the ACP aidrequests. This year things look better:STABEX will probably cover 100 percent ofACP demands, say the experts.

EEC food aid to the ACP states and toAsia and Latin America has also beensharply criticised. The Community hasbeen accused of ofiloading farm sur-pluses onto the Third World. Supplies ofmilk-powder, butteroil and cerealshave, according to the critics, not onlychanged Third World eating habits, butalso encouraged dependence on im-ported food and discouraged food pro-duction in the developing world.

Added to this criticism is the recog-nised fact that aid in the past has beenbadly managed. Too much emphasiswas placed on large-scale industrial pro-

'More qttention mustbe pqid to the retllneeds of the ACPslqtes'

jects, with little or no follow-up guaran-teed. Hardly any account was taken ofthe effects ofthese development projectson the environment or of the impact onthe people concerned and training forthe local population was inadequate. Infact, the human factor has been ignoredfortoo long.

Much oflom6's inability to reply fullyto ACP needs must, of course, be due tothe economic recession, which has hitthe Third World, and particularly Afri-ca, hardest ofall. According to the 1983World Development Report, just pub-lished by the World Bank, impetus to-wards development in many nationswas more sharply broken by the globaleconomic recession than at any othertime since the Bank begun operationsnearly40 years ago.

In light of this, certain provisionswithin the Lom6 Convention have beencalledinto question. The EEC isthe firstto admit that lom6 must be improved.EEC/ACP cooperation under Lom6 hasspanned over eight years and, in such ashort period, times have changed radi-cally. Lom6 must therefore adapt tothese changes.

The aid must be made more effective,guidelines and priorities must be setand,saystheEEC, theuseofaid, nomat-ter what form, must be carefully moni-tored through a continuous dialoguewith the ACP states in order to ensurethe best results possible. More attentionmustbe paid to the real needs ofthe ACPstates. Food production must be encour-aged, dependence on oil imports must bereducedand, aboveall, thehumanfactorcan no longerbe neglected.

The ACP states also recognise theneed for change, but they naturallywant this on their terms. Above all, theywant their sovereignty to remain intact.A new Convention for them means totalfree access for all ACP products on theEEC market, an extension of the pro-ducts covered by the STABEX system,better provisions to encourage privateinvestment, industrial and agriculturaldevelopment, help for their serious debtproblems and, of course, increased de-velopment assistance.

The stage has been set. The EECagreed its negotiating mandate on 19September. Both sides have almost oneyear to hammer out an agreement anddecide whether, this time around, theyare prepared, as suggested by EEC Com-missioner Edgard Pisani, to enter into alife-long commitment. They will besearching for a new Convention which,in these times of interdependence, willbe mutually beneficial. Also, a Conven-tion which will make economic sense forlonger than just the remainder of the1980s'

JANEM'RRT.E

EII'{O FOE,I.IM

Renewal of the contract:the Commission's briefThe Council of Ministers has concluded its deliberations aimedat defining the mandate to be given to the Commission forconducting the forthcoming negotiations on a new ACP-EECConvention.

The second Convention, signed atLom6 on Sl October 1979, expires on 28February 1985. This Convention pro-vides for the opening of negotiations,eighteen months before that date, inorder to examine what provisions shallsubsequently govern relations betweenthe Community and the ACP states.

As in the case of Lom6 I and Iom6 II,the Commission has been authorised toopen these negotiations and will con-duct them on behalf of the Community,in close contact with a committee com-posed of member state representatives,who will attend the negotiating sessionsas observers.

The Council, at its meeting on 19September, decided that the aim ofthenegotiations should be to work out acomprehensive agreement between theACP and the Community, impartingnew momentum to the development ofrelations between them, while at thesame time adapting the Convention totake account ofchanges inthe economicsituation and the need to improve theeffectiveness of foreign aid and its in-struments.

The new Convention, in line with thefirst and second Lom6 Conventions, willaim at increasing and consolidating theeffectiveness of cooperation.

The objective ofthis cooperation willbe to support the ACP states' own effortsto achieve self-reliant and self-sus-tained development, special allowancebeingmade for specific geographical, so-cial and cultural factors and the desirefor regional organisation. The Conven-tion must give special consideration tothe least-developed countries and to themost deprived sections of the popula-tion.

Respect for human digrrity, as definedby the Universal Declaration ofHumanRights, the OAU charber and the Euro-pean Convention, better living condi-tions and due consideration for the roleof women will be regarded as part andparcel ofany development policy.

Special efforts will be aimed at foodsecurity, promoting rural development,and boosting the food production of ACPcountries, in addition to specific long-term eampaigns for the conservationand exploitation of natural resources.

,Aqreqler rolemu-st be givento progrqmmes,esieclolf sectorolones'

support to policies aimed at consolidat-ing and rationalisingproduction in ACPstates and increasing the value addedwithinthem.

The Community believes thatSTABEX, which must retain its agri-cultural emphasis, should includemachinery for joint (EEC-ACP) diagno-sis of the reasons for losses in earningsandjoint decisions on courses ofaction toremedy the situation either by impro-ving profitability or switching toanother, more profitable type ofenter-prise.

The Community will rea{flrm in thenext Convention the importance for allparties ofpromoting and protecting pri-vate investment, which can make an in-dispensable contribution to develop-ment. It is also essential that the princi-ple of non-discrimination betweenmember states be upheld.

Certain sectoral cooperation policiesshould be maintained and improved,such as:Z Cooperatian on food and agriculture.

The emphasis should be on support-ing ACP states' own efforts to orches-trate better their agrifoodstuffs poli-cies, and on encouraging the imple-mentation of food strategies at bothnational and regional levels.

A Ind,ustrial cooporatbn. Here theCommunity will confirm its desire tosupport small and medium-sized in-dustrial andcraft enterprisesandthedevelopment of domestic markets.

A Erwrgy polrcy. Aimed at reducing thedependence ofACP states in this sec-tor.

J Mining pohcy. Encouragement ofprospecting and the development ofACP states' mineral resources.

D Seafishingpoliry.While wishing to retain, in broad out-

line, the present institutional structure,the Community nevertheless recog-nises the need to improve the way inwhich it operates.

The EEC-ACP Council of Ministers'policy-formulation and arbitrationfunctions should be strengthened, andthe Committee of Ambassadors shouldremain the standing body.

The present duplication between theConsultative Assembly and the JointCommittee should be ended.

The formal opeingof the forthcomingnegotiations took place on 6 and 7 Octo-ber in Luxembourg in the presence ofrepresentatives of all the parties con-cerned. In addition to the 63 ACP statessignatory to the Convention, two non-member African states - Angola andMozambique - have already madeknown their wish to attend the negotia-tionsasfull members,showingthattheymay be favourably disposed towardsjoining.

Cooperation will be guided and moni-tored by a dialogue with the ACP statesaimed at realising the Convention'saims and priorities in order to increasethe effectiveness of sectoral policieswithin the framework of coherent de-velopment programmes.

Financial and technical cooperationwill be based on the principal aid beingused to support the ACP states' ownefforts. The Community will according-ly propose to the ACP countries that theConvention make provision for theopening of a dialogue on the develop-ment policies which these countrieswish, with Community support, to pur-sue.

The Community will reaffirm the fun-damental importance of aid program-ming and the need to support sectoraldevelopmentpolicies.

The practical expressionoftheseprin-ciples should be the formulation by theCommunity and each ACP state of in-dicative development programmes inaccordance with the total appropriationearmarked for the country in question.Should agreement on support for a sec-toral policy prove impossible, other ap-plications of Community aid should belookedinto.

In addition, although capital projectsremain the most common form of aid, agreater role must be given to program-mes, especially sectoral ones.

The Community will propose that therange of general trade arrangementscontained in the present Convention beretained in its successor, including theprovisions on access ofACP agriculturalproducts. It will thus confirm the princi-ples of non-reciprocity, non-discrimina-tion between member states and ap-plication of the most-favoured nationclause.

The Community intends to give its

(iii)

EUftOFOF,UM

Aidtothe ThirdWorldisnotjust charityAs renewed talks with the Lom6 nations get under way,commissioner Edgard Pisani stresses that Third Worlddevelopment is'part of the Community's identity'Ine European Economrc t om-

! munity has opened negotiationsI with sixty-three African, Carri-I U"." anci Pacific IACPI nadons.

What is at stake is more than just a re-newal of the economic, financial andtrade links agreed between Europe andthe Third World under the Yaound6,Iom6 1 and Lom6 2 Conventions.

It should be remembered that de-velopment aid to the Third World is notsimply charity. It also offers advantagesin terms of privileged links and trade. Itis not in Europe's interest for the greaterpart of the Third World to sulfer fromperpetual under-development and mal-nutrition: we must givethembetter aid,and more of it.

Better aid for the ACP countriesmeans aid that can be used properly,used to build for the future and not justsatisfu immediate needs and past debts.

More aid means crossing thethreshold, beyond which economic take-offis possible and development aid canattain its double objective: the overalleconomic growth of the beneficiarycountry and its positive participation inworldtrade. Can Europe refuse the ACPcountries the very same benefits of par--ticipation

in the world economy that itenjoys itselfl

The Convention will have to includeissues relating to trade and raw mate-rials - two burning topics in the aft,er-math of the Belgrade Conference, atwhich the Third World pleaded with theindustrialised countries for a return tofree trade and an endto protectionism.

Will Europe have the strength toaccept competition from the developingcountries in those traditional sectorswhich are also the least developed in ourown system ofproduction? And in such asituation, should one not regard theprinciple of non-reciprocity in terms ofaccess to markets rather differently?

Above all, the Community has chosento recommend strongly that absolutepriority be given to the food problem. Itis extremely urgent. The causes ofhun-ger in the Third World are well known.The Community wants its ACP part-ners to undertake food strategies thatwill allow them, iftheyso decide, to over-come the dilemma which confrontsthem: whether to import oil or wheat, to

'Cqn Europ'e refusethe ACP cduntriestheverysqmebenefir-s in the worldeconomvthot itenioys if'self?'

tackle hunger or the energy crisis.Through the 'policy dialogue' and the in-troduction of'food strategies', a debatehas emerged as to the best way to use ex-ternal aidand whatformthis aid shouldtake to be useful.

The debate is educational because itconcentrates analysis, and it is innova-tory because it leads to a new type ofdevelopment, which is more autono-mous in its conception and day-to-dayadministration in the countriesconcerned.

The dialogue is decisive, because itallows us to put into perspective theshort and medium term, the sensationaland the essential , our technological eivi-lisation andthe culture ofour partners.

But the Community must also sayhow it intends to deal with a seriousproblem, the importance and urgency ofwhich was side-stepped by IINCTAD.The subject is debt. Annual debt servic-ing offers the developing countries oneoftwo choices: stop payingor stop invest-ing. Once the Community hasconfirmedthe principle that all debts must be re-paid, could itnot dispense withhavingtotake into consideration the problem,which obsesses ACP governments?

Europe is in a crisis that is both ex-istential and essential. Some peoplethink that agricultural, budgetary andinstitutional issues are priorities whichrequire us to relegate the problems ofthe Third Worldto the second shelf. Thisis a mistake. Third World developmentpolicy is part ofthe Community's identi-ty. Without it, Europe would not be thesarne.

Europe's ability to conceive, proposeand conduct a major North-South policyhas placed it on a world stage and givenit a sense of its own interests. The lom6negotiations will soon give it an oppor-tunity to say if it really has the will andthe abilityto exist.

Women's Rights in the EEC:a guideforwomen in the UK.Rights of Women Europe Group,374 Grays Inn Road, LondonWCl, t3.00 (plus 50 pencepostage)

Based on research in lhe UK, thispaperback explains the means andprocedures bywhich women canpursue claims to entitlementsunder Community law, notably inareas where it conflicts withnational legislation.

Common Market Digest: aninformation guide to theEuropean Communities. ByDavid Overton. The LibraryAssociation, London, t29.50

Aguide and aide memoiretothestructure of the EEC institutions,aimed at businessmen, localauthority and civil servants,studenls and academics, whoneed a direct line to the sources ofCommunity authority and action.

European Court Practice. ByJohnA. Usher.Sweet & Maxwel!,832.00

Howthe European Courtof Justiceoperates, with detailed analysis ofparticular procedures, by a formerlegal secretary at the EuropeanCourt who has first-handknowledge of how it works.

lmmigration Law. 2nd edition.ByJ.M. Evans. Sweet & Maxwell,87.50 (paperback)

An enlarged and substantiallyrewritten edition of a useful book ofcase studies in English public law,with a separate chapter onimmigration law and the Europeancommunities.

Food policy, August 1983 issue.Butterworth Scientif ic (lPC),t22.20

An issue of this specialist quarterlymagazine covering Third Worldstates.

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EUROPE 83

Salvation will notcomefiomprutectionism,says minister

urope has been losing the fight forworld markets, and is now at an'historic crossroads', Britain's trademinister, Paul Channon, told the

Swedish Chamber of Commerce on 28

October.The dismantlingof both internal and exter-

nal trade barriers which preceded a rapid eco-

nomic progress of both the community andEftaduring the 1960s andearly 1970s has been

overtaken by greater caution and uncertaintyin the harsher economic climate of the last de-cade, he said.

More disturbingly, it also gave rise to pro-tectionist leanings among those who believedthat Europe's industrial and economic in-terests might now best be served by the evolu-tion of a'Fortress Europe'.

MrChannonunderlinedthefactthat, in thecases of both Efta and the Community, theprosperity ofmodern Europe had been based

on the development of free trade. Europe'ssalvation would not come from protection-ism, he warned. It would increasingly lie ingreater industrial and technological col-laboration.

!flhat he called 'the increasing irrelevanceofnational frontiers'was opening up opportu-nities for collaborative industrial and scien-tific prolects within the Community whichcould use Europe's 'formidable human andtechnical resources to challenge the industrialmight of Japan and the US in a way that nomember state on its own would be capable of.'

Mr Channon warned, however, against toopurist an approach. Not all such collaborativeprojects should be restricted to Europe, he

said. A country was not a 'bad European'country if it entered a collaborative proiectwhere the market logic demanded it.

'Any attempt to opt for an exclusively Euro-pean route to future industrial developmentwould inevitably run the risk of further wide-ning the gap between the existing malor in-dustrial and trading blocs and of increasingprotectionist trends', he said.

The minister gave reasons for optimism ab-out the future ofworld trade.

'First and most obviously, we have finallysucceeded in beginning to emerge from theworst world recession since the 1930s withoutanyone having initiated a trade war. Indeed,the tariff cuts which have been continuingunder the Gatt's Tokyo round have actuallyreduced the incidence of industrial tariffs tounprecedentedly low levels.

'secondly, the European Community is

considering how best to play a full part in im-plementing the \ililliamsburg undertaking toroll back protectionism', Mr Channon said. E

I urooean Social Affairs Ivlinisters have

L lr.i+ to concentrate European Social

F Fundspendingoniobs.E tne reassessment or rne JocrarFund, aimed at reallocation of available re-sources, resulted in a compromise solution.The formula eventually adopted was sug-gested by European employment and socialaffairs commissioner Ivor Richard, and re-conciled the differences between supportersofa 'regional' Social Fund and a 'de-regional-ised'Fund aimed at issues.

The eventual result served the interests ofthe high-priority regions, whilst at the sametime guaranteeing that most of the resourceswill go towards employment-orientated pro-iects. Young people in high unemploymentareas will benefit the most.

In concrete terms the agreement means that75 per cent ofavailable credits will go towardspromoting employment among young peopleaged under 25. The rest of the money will be

spent on helping the long-term unemployed,women wanting to work again, the disabled,migrant workers and people employed insmall and medium-sized businesses. Peopleinvolved in careers guidance will also be eligi-ble for Social Fund aid.

About 40 per cent of the money will go to-wards supporting employment policies in themember states. Greenland, Greece, theFrench Overseas Departments (DOMs), Ire-land, the Italian Mezzogiorno and NorthernIreland will all be maior recipients.

The rest of the funds will be concenuatedon job creation in high unemployment areas

and industrial and sectorial restructuring.Proiects of an innovatory kind have also

been included. Five per cent of credits will go

towards specific innovatory projects andefficiency studies. The Commission stillwants to promote measures to bring about areorganisation and reduction in working timeintheCommunity. E

l3

It's o long woit. Butthe Community's employmeni policies ore getting more money'

Social Fund shift towads the iobless

ROPE 83

Brilain and Europe:thestoryof tifteensguanderedyeafisJOHN ARDAGH reviews abook in which leadingfigures in Britain's long-drawn-out negotiations toioin the original EuropeanCommunity grve their ownaccounts of how an historicopportunity went begging

W#i1t!'ffi,1""'illii:':'lead to the creation of the Community?

It is a dispiriting story of myopic iudge-ments and missed opportunities, and is told indetail in an absorbing book(The Price of Vic-lory, BBC Publications, S10.75), based on aseries of interviews conducted by MichaelCharlton for the BBC.

Initially these were edited into nine one-hour programmes for Radio 3. Now they are

between hard covers, in far more extendedform, with Charlton's linking commentary:Macmillan, Heath, \07ilson and others, in-cluding senior politicians and diplomats bothBritish and foreign, tell the whole saga in theirownwords.

As emerges clearly, the consensus view to-day is that Britain after the war made seriousmistakes in underestimating the forces thenworking for unity in Europe, and in decidingthat it was not in her interests to get involved.Thus she stood aloof both from the inceptionof the Coal and Steel Community in 1950, andfrom the talks at Messina, Sicily, in 1955 thatled to the birth of the EEC. She missed herchance to assume the leadership of the newEurope, when it was hers for the taking.

And so, according to this consensus view,she permitted the Continental nations to formtheir own kind of Europe, which was not ex-actly hers, and when she did finally join itmany years later, it had to be much more ontheir terms than hers.

In the words ofone ofCharlton's contribu-tors, Lord Thorneycroft, a senior minister atthe time of Messina: 'If we had gone in then,our position was strong, our reputationhigh . . . The resultant community would have

looked quite different to the one which existstoday, andwould be geared farmore to Britishinterests. . . It was a diplomatic catastrophe.'

To European federalists, this may seem arather nationalistic way of looking at things:yet there seems little doubt that Britain alsoharmed the cause of Europe itself by thosefiteen years ofnegative tactics, and that todaythe Community would have fewer problems ifshe had joined it initially.

The story begins in June 1940, when Chur-chill tried - unsuccessfully - to implementMonnet's proposal for a union of Britain andFrance. As this book shows clearly, Churchillwas a francophile and European visionary,one ofthe first to conceive the ideal ofa federalEurope, whichhe saw asa bulwark against theSoviet menace and also as a means of endingthe hostility between France and Germany.

Over what Britain's role should be in thisnew order, Churchill was more equivocal -'\tr?'e are withEvope, but not o/it,'he oncesaid. But he certainly did not want Britain tobe left out. After Labour's arrival in power in1945, the Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin,staunchly anti-Communist, played a leadingrole in organising European unity on defencein alliance with the Americans, and this led toNATO. But economic and political unity in-terested Bevin far less, and he cold-shoul-dered overtures from the Continent.

Disenchanted with Britain, the Europeansthen set about organising their own unity,based on the Schuman Plan that led to theEuropean Coal and Steel Community. BritishGovernments - fust Labour, then Conserva-tive-failed to perceive the significance ofthisventure and feared it would restrict Britain'ssovereignty,ifshejoined. Kl

A lote entry (Edword Heoth) is ushered onstoge by Hbrold Mocmillori- how Britishcortoonist L-es.!ie lllingworth sowthe 4tcontest in l95l .

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EUROPE 83

De Gsulle: Slhqtoneqrth do you wqnllobotherwirh rheGommon Mqrkel lor?'

When Churchill returned as Prime Minis-ter in 1951, his earlier European idealismseemed to have dgssftsd him, and he did no-thing to further its cause. Probably by then hewas too old and tired. Anthony Eden, hisForeign Secretary and successor as Prenier,was much more an Adanticist than a Euro-pean, and so were most of his Cabinet. SoBriuin again stood uegatively on the sidelineswhen, in 1955, the Europeans met at Messinaand began to prepare the EEC.

The Foreign Office was largely to blame,foritwas sceptical of these talks leartingto an]thing durable, and advised against joiningthem. Britain later tried to promote her ownrival scheme for a loose'free trade associa-tion', but this was scuppered, largely by theFrench.

After Macmillan became Prime Minister in1957, there was a gradual change ofheart- atleast. He realised that the new-born EEC wasnot going to fail, and that Britain's long-terminterests were to get inside it.

But by now - savage irony! - a man hadcome to power in France who was much less

'European' tlan the Schumans and Ade-nauers andlizr less keen on welcoming Briuininto the club: General de Gaulle. At a key66stingwithMacmillanin 1962, hesaid(asdeZulueu recalls): 'Vhat on earth do you wantto bother with the Co--on Market for? Idon'tlikeitverymuchbut I've gotit, andwhyon earth do you want to join it?'

De Gaulle's crucial veto in January 1963thendelayed British entrybyalmost adecade.But, as Charlton's book shows eloquently, thereal veto had come from Britain herselfin the1950s.

Why did she persist in this line for so long?The answer lies pardy in the war: Bdtainescaped defeat in 1940 iust because, geo-graphically, she was rutpart of Europe, andher final victory derived substantially fromthe backing she got from the Empire and theUnited States . After the war, even while trans-forming Empire into Commonwealth, shestill relied on ttrese links, and was slow to per-ceive how much Europe and the world werechanging. In Jean Monnet's words that con-clude this book :'It was tlu pice of oictory, theillusiouttratyou couldmaintnin whatyouhad,withoutchange.'

Today, Britain has found herrightfrrl place.But, had she joined much earlier, aud thushelp to shape the Community initially, it is atleast arguable that the Common AgriculturalPoliry would be less wasteful and more realis-tic, and that Britain would have been sparedmostofthosetediouswrangles overherroleinthe Community. Such is the price of thosesquanderedyears. E

| fterlongdelayandmuchf l equivocation, the European

ff c"--unity is today be-ing t-orced toa I reconsideritsposition.Tenyears ago, afterthe accession oftheUK, Denmark and lreland, the Communitythought that it could continue to function asit had previously, as ifthe realities wereinevitably going to adapt themselves to itswishes.

At the end of the 1970s, instead ofrecognis-ing that there were real problems to be faced,especially in the agricultural sector - prob-lems which would have arisen inexorably,even in the Community of the Six - Europestubbornly continued to consider the unvril-lingness of its new members to adapt as thefundamental cause of its problems. Evenmore importanl than 1fos accession of Spainand PomreBl is the industrial crisis which, un-fornrnately for us, is no longer that of theWestern world in gener"al, but is solely andspecifi cally our. crisis.

It is this which poses the only really perti-nent question for our goveflrments. Is theCommunity dimension the trump card withwhich we can beat the crisis, or not? Are thealternatives, for example individual action oragreements with Japan and the USA, viableand profitable? How and when should theCommunityact?

The answers to these questions have not yetbeen established. However, the absence ofidealogical schisms in the Commuuity seemsto me to be an encouraging factor. There areno schisms concerning the agricultural policy,which all the member states, including thoseon the other side of the English Channel, con-sider to be vital.

The same is true as rejards public interven-tion in industry, for all the member states infact inlluence the ecouomic and social en-vironment within which industry operates inone way or another. Nor are there any schismsconcerning either the main axis of the econo-mic and monetary policy or the question ofbuilding up our resoruces, which - albeit animFortant one - is of au essentially technicalnature.

It remains to be seen whether or not thecountries of the Community are really on thesame wavelengttr in the fi eld of industrial com-

petition, and also whether one or the other ofthem is not still under the imFression - and Istress this word - that they have an alternativeto the European solution.

\[hat has to be accepted now is that prag-matism without strategic sims ea the onehaud, and strategieswithout alarge market ontheother, haveledtoastalemate. Thenational'champions' do not exploit the high level ofEuropean science as fully as they might, nordo they exploit the continental dimension attheir disposal, which is necessary to their de-velopmentl and, above all, they cost their gov-ernments large sums of money.

And yet, the same enterprises in Japan andthe USA enrich those countries' economies.This implies that the member states of theCommunity set themselves common strategicobiectives and create conditions which giveindustries an incentive to support cq)pera-tion. Today, in 1983, there is nothing to pre-vent us from announcing aten-year program-me setting up an internal market which offersindustries thesameguarantees as tle customsuniondidpreviously.

1[g main priority will be an aggressive re-view ofthefiscal and competition policies. Itishigh time that favourable conditions were cre-ated in these two areas.

In fact, the greatest difference between ourEuropeansocietyand the Japaneseand Amer-ican societies is the rigidity within which weoperate. \[e have neither the strategic fl exibil-ity of the Japanese, who make just as manymistakes as we do but are rapidly able to cor-rect them, nor do we have the mobility andcontinental dimension of the USA. Thepotential of ttre Community is such as to en-able these deficiences to beremedied, on con-dition that we are able to agree on credible andprecise actions which can be rapidly trans-formed into operational instruments.

One of the greatest difficulties whichthreatenin thefutureis, in fact, the scepticismwhich surrounds the Community.

Are we capable of giving future strategiesthe same attention we gave those of 1958? Atthat time, the industries were convinced thatthe customs union would indeed be inuo-duced and they anticipated the move. Vemust arouse the sarne confidence and redis-qovert}esamevitalitytoday. E

l5

lsthe@mmunwdimerrion atrumpcard

-ornot?ETIENNE DAVIGNON, avice-president of the

European Commission, asks if it can recoyerthe confidence and vitality of its early days

ROPE 83

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Making music the Feuchtwanger wayn the day that the first peformanceof his new work forpiano was beinggiven at the Queen Elizabeth Hall,Peter Feuchtwanger finished his

master class in Holland and flew toHeathrow, leaving barely enough time tochange before the recital. But such a rapidsequence ofevents is all in a day's work forFeuchtwanger, who divides his timeequally between his pupils in London andthose in maior academies across Europe.

The new work, entitled 'Raga Todi' wascommissioned and played by the Americanpianist, Craig Sheppard. It is the latest in a

series of pieces composed over a period oftwenty-five yearsl and in all of themFeuchtwanger has combined the music ofEastandWest in an exciting and original way,producing an authentic oriental sound on con-ventional western instruments. But he is not aprolific composer. He devotes almost all of histime to teaching, preferring the quiet atmos-phere of his classes to the limelight. Onlywhen he can be lured away from teaching doeshe compose, despite the immediate successthat all his works have achieved.

In 1959 his'Variations on an Eastern FolkTune'won first prize at the international Viot-ti competition in Italy. Not longafterwards hel6

JAMES HOGAN meets oneof Europe's most rigorouspiano teachers, whose owncompositions have won himinternational acclaim

composed his 'Three Studies in the EasternIdiom'in which he introduced the Raga intowestern music before it became fashionable.In 1966 Yehudi Menuhin commissionedFeuchtwanger to compose the'Raga Tilang'for the Bath festival. It was performed by RaviShankar and Menuhin himself. But despitebroadcasts and the willingness of celebratedpianists to play his works, Feuchtwangerturned to teaching as easily as he had, at amuch earlier stage, abandoned a brilliantcareer as a concert pianist. He has no regrets.

'I started as a concert pianist and it was avery good career. But I didn't like all that wentwith it, the publicity, the social obligationsand the unavoidable long hours of practise.All that would have kept me from composing,reading and looking at paintings which werejust as important to me.'

The determination to see music-making asone part of a richer life is at the heart of histeaching. In a three-hour long class Feucht-wanger may draw his pupils into a discussionof literature orpainting. On the wallof his ownmusic room there is a twentieth-century mas-terpiece,'Soleil d'Hiver' by George Rouault.These are not mere diversions to alleviate theintensity of a very long class. Feuchtwanger'sclasses are relaxed, and he sees these other re-ferences as an essential part ofa pupil's educa-tion.

Many of his pupils have gone on ro winprizes in mafor competitions. Some of themhave also found that, irrespective ofany praisewhich has been heaped upon them, they havewanted to retrace their steps and begin againunder Feuchtwanger's guidance. \7ith in-finite care and patience he leads them along anew path of learning. This is not a penance de-signed to shake off bad habits, it is an adven-ture. At the end of the journey they may dis-cover the elusive and nameless essence of themusic. All egotistical considerations are for-bidden.

Top: o Feuchtwonger mosler closs inproqress. Riqht: orrivino of London'sQuden ElizoLeth Ho I I w'ith Americonpionist Croig Sheppord

UROPE 83

Even a new technique must be mastered. ,The piqnist WqS tO beusing only natural movements instead of ex- _--_- _ _ r_ _i_- _-i __--- __ _

.gg.i.t.d muscular contractions. This fggGtfqeq qS qnaff,roachtopianoplaying, Feuchtwangerbe- inStfUment With O SOUI'lieves, will give the pianist a new freedom toplay the music honestly and directly withoutaffectation.

Only two musicians in recent times, Clara musicortheirownfeelingswitharepertoryofHaskil and Kathleen Ferrier, have achieved facial expressions. Feuchtwanger has earnedthe ideal, in Feuchtwanger's view. Clara Has- his reputation as an enfant terrible because ofkil, whose Mozart and Schumann recordings this uncompromising search for purity inof the Fifties are still thought to be unsurpas- music making.sed, had an overwhelming influence on his 'Myapproachisverydifferent. Apartfromapproach to teaching. He heard her play and insisting on completely natural movements, Ialso knew her as a friend; and in recent years want my pupils to realise that the piano ishehasbeenaregularmemberofthefuryatthe much closer to the human voice than peopleClara Haskil piano competition, held every think. Most pianists today don't cultivate a

two years at Montreux-Vevey. beautiful sound like the pianists of the goldenIn this competition, which honours the age.Ithasnothingtodowithtechnique. They

warmth and purity of Clara Haskil's genius, don't share the same ideals as the pianists ofcandidates are fudged more on the quality of that time. And they don't learn from the ex-their interpretation and their musical ability ampleshownbythegreatbelcozlosingerswhothan on their technique and virtuosity. This is inspired and influenced composers like Cho-not to say that technique is less important than pin and Mendlessohn and even Alban Berg.interpretation. It means that the judges want 'They should study the old recordings ofthe technique to be put at the service of a legendarysingerslikeAdelinaPatti.Throughmusicalideal. Rossini, Patti was introduced to the orna-

Feuchtwanger's own distinguished mentations and embellishments created byteachers include Edwin Fischer and Valter MariaMalibran,Bellini'sfavouritesinger. ByGieseking. He studied composition with Sir studying these recordings my students get a

Lennox Berkeley and Hans Heimler, among completely different idea about phrasing.others, and his profound knowledge of orien- Clara Haskil knew this instinctively. All instru-tal music grew from a five year study of Indian ments find their ideal in the human voice.'music at London University. He was thirteen

Feuchtwanger also asks his pupils not totreat the piano like a percussion instrument.Loud playing, he tells them, is no substitutefor powerful musical expression.

'Piano playing is not a sport to see who canplay the loudest. Even in a piano competitionit's the music that must come first. You don'tmake music to win prizes. But winning does,of course, make it easier to start a career.Vhether or not competitions bring out thebest in pianists is another matter. Some of mypupils play much better in concerts than theyever would in competitions because they aretoo sensitive. And it works the other wayround. Pianists who do well in competitionssometimes go on to give undistinguished per-formances in concerts.

'If a student has all the pieces in his reper-tory that a competition demands, then I canhelp to prepare him. But I refuse to work witha pianist solely for the purpose of entering a

competition. It is unnatural, and the aim iswrong.'

For the future, Feuchtwanger - who is a

vice-president of the European PianoTeachers' Association - hopes that he will beable to set up a musical foundation to help pre-serve the great traditions and provide supportfor talented young musicians. Characteristi-cally he laments the modern practise of cheer-ing singers to the echo for giving perform-ances which would have been regarded as in-tolerableinthepast. g

before he had a formal piano lesson.'At first I was self-taught,'hesays. 'I played

@*\all the Chopin studies ana nltlgv;y:o""lT ffiku-;.r, ,,.,.,,i**by ear from gramophone records. It was not S$|l$lirir;:1i:t:|i.:tlrli.:-..li)9r':until I played them at a lesson that I realised Ihad been playing them a semitone too high be-cause the gramophone was too fast. It amusedmy fust teacher, and having to learn to playthem all agan in the right key meant that fromthen on transposition came naturally to me.'

'Thouqh heobqndoned q brilliqntcoreer qs q concerlpionist, he hos noregrets'

Feuchtwanger's love ofreading has provedto be as vital to his musical development as hisold gramophone. Indeed, one short book,'Zen in the Art of Archery', by Eugen Her-rigel, has influenced his approach to teachingas much as the playing of Clara Haskil andKathleen Ferrier's nobly passionate singing.

Having begun to bridge the gap betweenEastern and Western music, he found in Her-rigel's little book the perfect expression ofhisown ideals in music making. The pianist wasto be regarded as an instrument with a soul.Movements must be restricted to thoseneeded to make a sound, and pupils weretobepositively discouraged from parodying the

EUROPE 83

Small firms Gut-ratefailure rate phone calls

insideEurope?

Too manyteacheHS,says newreportThousands of newly qualifiedteachers face unemployment thisyear because offalling numbers ofschoolchildren and cuts ineducation spending, according toa European Commission report.

Economic pressures, and fewerstudents, could mean the loss of12,000 teaching jobs in the Nether-lands and over 10,000 in the FederalRepublic ofGermany by 1985, saysthe report, which was compiled bythe Commission's Eurydice Educa-tion Information Network.

In the German Land of Hessenalone, lob losses could be as high as

9.7 per cent of the total teachingforce of45,000, with the possibilityof a further cut of up to 17 per centbetween 1985-1990, it claims.

Europe's school-age population isfalling and with it the demand forteachers. Between 1975 and 1985the number ofunder-14 year-olds inthe ten EC countries is expected todecline by an average of 14.5 percent. In the Federal Republic ofGermany the decline is expected tobe 3 l. I percent, nearly a third ofthepresent level. In the Netherlandsschool rolls are expected to fall byabout 16 per cent, in Belgium by l8per cent and in the United Kingdomby about 14.9 per cent.

EEC governments, with the ex-ception of France, have reacted tothe trend by freezing or cutting theireducation budgets. Educationspending in thd FRG between I 982-1985 is expected to increase by a

nominal 1.5 per cent a year. TheDutch government are hoping for a

3 per cent saving over the next twoyears and in Belgium, teachers'salaries have been subject toa gener-al public sector squeeze.

France, on the other hand, in-creased its education expenditureby about 15 per cent in 1981/82, aspart of President Mitterand's social-ist programme.

Small firms with less than twentyemployees have emerged as themost dynamic source of iobcreation this decade, according tosocial affairs and employmentcommissioner Ivor Richard.

However, only about one in fivesurvives more than five years, eitherbecause of bad management,marketing or accountancy, or be-causeofinsufficienttechnicalskills,or simply because oflack ofversatil-ity, he claims.

Speaking to a European seminaron the training needs of small andmedium-sized firms in Luxem-bourg, he said that the Communitywas committed to improving voca-tional training in Europe, and inparticular management training tohelp small firms.

The European Commissionplaces special emphasis on trainingfor women and young people want-ing to start their own businesses.

But training is only part of thecomplete support structure neededfor the creation and survival ofsmallfirms. The range of organisationsoffering support services must alsoexpand, he said.

The European Parliamenthascalled for the introduction ofasystem ofcheap rates forinternational telephone callsbetween EC countries during off-peak hours.

Cheap rates currently apply todomestic calls in most Communitycountries at weekends, on publicholidays and at night between 8.00pm and 7.00 am.

In a resolution submitted to theEuropean Commission and theCouncil of Ministers in September,the Parliament said that a draftEuropean directive on reduced ratesinside the Community should bedrawn up as soon as possible to cre-ate a single market for telephonecalls in Europe.

In the meantime, member statesshould introduce identical rates forcross frontier trunk calls inside theCommunity and should indepen-dently reduce off-peak charges by athird, say the MEPs.

More helpfor smallfarmers?Support for small farmers,increased development aid forpoor rural areas, an improveddivision of available resourcesand control ofsurpluses are thefourmain obiectives of newEuropean Commission proposalsdesigned to reform the structureofagriculture in Europe. Thepolicy is 'a key element' in theCommunity's future, according toagriculture commissioner PoulDalsager.

The proposals to reform the CAPemanate from decisions taken by theEuropean Council in Stuttgart andare part ofa wider effort to relaunchthe Community. They are designedto change existing structures in thelight ofpast experience to meet newmarket conditions. Vith ministe-rial approval, the programme couldcome into operation in January1984.

The main beneficiary would bethe small farmer hard hit by the re-cession and directly affected by a

tighter budget and lower guaran-teed prices in the future. He wouldget additional aid. The Commissionprogramme would relax the condi-tions under which aid was granted,in order to help the least prosperousfarmer and improve the manage-ment of his land.

Europe is currently helping15,000 to 20,000 farmers. With thenew programme we could be help-ing ten to twenty times as many, saysPoul Dalsager.

Italy, Ireland and Greece, whichall have serious structural and finan-cial problems would also get majorfinancial aid under the plan. Thenew system would provide addition-al aid to compensate for naturalhandicaps and infra-structuralproblems in poor areas, byfinancinga large number of collective invest-ments.

The way in which available re-sources are divided would also berationalised. Whereas in the past

The pong ofthe brinyA number ofbeaches in Europenow run out red flags when thepollution rises above a certainlevel, according to a British MEP.

Richard Simmons says that theEuropean Community should nowact to introduce measures to protectthe health of holiday-makers.

He wants a Community-wide sys-tem of flags that could be run out toindicate the level of pollution andthe risk that it poses to bathers.

He also wants the European Com-mission to encourage a revision oflegislation in member states to en-sure that brochures and guidebooksprovide tourists with adequate in-formation.

Park yourfirearmshercThe .22 rifle has caused numerousdeaths in Europe, andtwo MEPshave called for stricter controls onpossession of the weapon.

The 1978 European Conventioncontrolling the acquisition and pos-session of frrearms has been ratifiedonly by Luxembourg and theNetherlands, and signed by theFederal Republic of Germany,Greece, Ireland and the UnitedKingdom.

Belgian Socialist MEPsRaymonde Dury and Ernest Glinnesay that gun legislation in EC coun-tries is too varied and provides noeffective control over exports. If a

European cannot acquire a weaponin his own country, he can alwaysobtain one in another member state,they claim.

The MEPs say that governmentsshould strengthen their nationallegislation, and ratify the EuropeanConvention to put an end to crimecommitted with weapons boughtover the counter.

productivity was the only criterion,new priorities include a reduction inproduction costs, an improvementin living aod working couditions,and the qualiry ofthe product. Theprogramme would also reduce sur-pluses by assisting tie processing ofsurplus products.

Gonsult yourdata-docEurope's doctor: are iacreasinglytunring to computers, and anItalian Christian Democrat MEPhas now called for the creation ofa European Health Data Base.

As medical knowledge advancesin leaps and bounds, traditionalmettrods are no longer adequate todiffirse it to doctors. A new efficientservice would benefit both doctorsand theirpatients, he says.

He says ttrat the medical data basecould be added to ttre edstingEuronet Diane network. It wouldinclude data on medication neededto treat rare diseases, diagnosticdata on poisons and information onspecialist centres in different mem-ber states.

Gam wc stopthose oilspills?European Environment Ministersare to consider a directive aimedat drawing up ioint contingencyplaas to combat accidental oilspillsatsea.

The growth of off-shore oil andgas exploration in European watersmeans that ttre threat ofoil pollutionis growing. According to ttre Inter-national Tanker Owners PollutionFederation, 32 major spills of over5000 barrels, or 20 per cent of theworld's recorded accidents, tookplace in European waters between1974and 1981.

The Regional Oil-CombaningCentre for the Mediterranean in

Malta recorded 72 accident alertsbefween 1977 and,1982, twelve ofwhich resulted in oil pollution thataffected ttre sea, beaches and wild-life.

lmproved national contingencyplans, coordination and informa-tion exchange, faster assessment ofthe threat posed by specific spills,increased ssrial surreillsnce, im-proved communications, bettertraining.for staff supervising clean-up operations, shared equipmentand simulated joint exercises aresome of the ideas embodied in theproposed directive.

The lateston hormomefatteningSixty of Europe's rtr63f sminsafscientists have contributedto aCommission rcport on the healthirnplications of usinghormones tofatten farm animals, according toEuropeaa Fatm ConmissioaerPouIDalsager.

The definitive work should clar-i$ the debatewhich began in Octo-ber 1980, whea the Commission cal-led for a ban on tle use ofselectedhormones for fattening animels, onhealthgrounds.

The report may help to establishwhether they do in fact constitute ahealth hazad and should be with-drawn from themarket.

The wrought irol lsmnants 6f9nsof the most famous Art Nouveaubuildings in Europe have gone to aBelgian ccrap dealer for a tittleovetthree pence akilo.

The sale, which has outraged con-sirvationists iogluding BelgianSocialist MEP Marijke Van Hemel-donck, is the latest chapter in tiestory of Victor Horta's Maison duPeuple, which was demolished in1965.

The move has brought renewedcalls from Ms. Van Hemeldonckandotlers foraEuropeanregisterofprotected monuments. She says thatlegislatioa should be introduced toclarifr what actually constitutesEurope's cultural and social herit-age and what should be done to pro-tect it.

The European Parliameat frstfloated the idea of European mea-sures to protect our'architecturaland archeological heritage' inSeptember 1982.

Dump it and Plight of thelump it? 'outsiderst

Let's tax the Inflation:sRussiars, sfill going

Save your says IUIEP downold ircm

European induetry has a variety ofdiffercnt defences against unfairtrading practices. The EuropeanCommission has iust published itsfi rst report on its antidumpingand anti-subsidy activities.

Between 1980and 1982, 13l caseswere investigated - 25 in 1980, 48 in1981, and 58in 1982. Chemicalpro-ducts, including fenilisers, trich-lorethylene and saccharine, wereamongst the most frequent offeu-ders in cases involving rhe Com-munity and third country exporters.

The l3l investigations involved32 countries, 2l ofthem related tothe United States, 13 to Czechoslo-vakia, 12 to East Germany, and ninetoBrazil.

A European Community tax oncut-price Soviet merchantshipping has been proposed by aBritishEuo-MP.

European Democrat MEP lfil-liam Newton Dunn says that theSoviet Union has been deliberatelyunder-cutting freight rates chargedby Vestern shipowners, who haveto operate on aprofit basis.

Subsidised fuel, low wages andunrealistic depreciation allowancesallow ttre Soviet fleet to charge 'un-realistic' rates that pose a threat tothe strategic position of ttre freeworld,hesays.

Over the past twenty years theSoviet merchant fleet has increasedsidold, and in numbers of ships isnow the largest merchantnavy in theworld. It is the sixth largest in termsof total national tonnage.

The tax would apply to all ship-ping services provided to ECcharterers by Soviet ships, butwould need the support of theEFTA countries, the USA andJapan to be effective.

The European Parliament hasapproved a report soadsmningthe ecoaomic decline oftheEuropean Community'speripheral regions and islands,a16 galling for additional regionaldevelopmentaid.

The already vast disparities be-tween Europe's rich heartlands andpoor peripheries are growiag,6ggslding to the report, which wascompiled by British MEP DavisHarris for the Padiament's commit-tee on regional policy and planning.

Indexed per capita GDP in the re-latively poor Dutch area of Groning-en is 208.7, compared to 37.3 inCalabria. Indexed productivity isroughly of the same magnirrds.Youth unemployment ia peripheralareas is about three times the Com-munity average and ttre workforce ismigrating to richer pastures, leav-ing behind ttre very you"g and theold, saytheMEPs.

The repon approved EC plans forintegrated development progf,am-mes to help the poorest Meditera-nean areas and said that new indus-tries, particularly tourism, shouldbeencouraged.

Inflation over the past year in theten EC countries fell to 8.2 percent, according to Eurostat'sconsumerprice index.

Greece remained the countryworst affected, with inllation run-ning at about 20 per cent. Italiaa in-flation was down to 13.6 per cent,followed by Ireland at l0 per centand France at 9.6 per cent.

The lowest rate was recorded inthe Netherlands, which experi-enced 2.7 per cent inflation. TheFederal Republic of Germany had 3per cent inllation, the United King-dom4.5 percent, Denmark6.l percent, Belgium 7.9per centand Lux-embourg 8.3 percent.

Inflation figures for the indus-trialised OECD countriesas awholewas 5 per cent, the lowest figure onrecord since October 1972.

Europe's maior industrial com-petitors, the United States and

Japan, both registered inflationrates ofbetween 2 per cent and 2.5percetrt.

EUROPE 83

PRO.EUROPE

FIRMSAREmtNGBEST,SAYSHOUSEOFLORIXi REPORT

uccessful exlxrrters to Europeare distinguished by their'positive attitude'tomembership, according to a

recently published report on Britain'spattern oftrade with other Communitymemberstates.

The report, prepared by the House ofLords Select Committee on the EuropeanCommuaities, concludes that the firmswhichhave beenmost successful in export-ing to other Community countries havebeen'notably well informed' about mar-ketsinEurope.

Sutistical evidence indicates a shift to-wards the Community in two-way tradesince Britain joined in 1973. And althoughthe sffi in the direction of Communitymarkets hasvariedfromindustry to indus-try, overallithas been over and abovewhatBritain could have expected in the light ofpre-entry experience, the report shows.

On the debit side, lack of competitive-ness rather than the effects of membershipare blamed for tle deterioration of thetrade balance in manufactures. Confedera-tion of British Industry evideuce to thessls61 gsmmittee partly blames the over-valued pound for undermining industry'scompetitiveuess in recent years.

But the problem is 161 senfinsd tsEurope, the report points out. Decline intrade in manufactures is in line with similardecline in trade with other industrialisedcountries.

Manufacturers of food and drink aresingled out in the report as being amongthose who have reacted capably to theoppornrnities and problems of mem-bership. But in addition to the big swingtowards Europe in uade in food and re-lated products, the clothing and chemicalindustries have been roulstandingly

suc_cessfnl', along with trade in some sectorsof the electrical engineering industry.However, trade in mechanical engineeringproducts has suffered badly since Britainioined the Community, says the report.

Most representatives of industry givingevidence to the select sgmmittse wslsagreed that membership has given Britaiua larger and more secrue exlrcrt marketoverall. But the market was still frag-mented by a lack ofCommunity standards,20

plus an alarming proliferation in state aidsand administrative barriers. Moreover,some countries are 'adept' at bending com-munity rules to protect their ovrn nation-als, the report mainteins.

Among the healthy benefits of mem-bership the report lists greater domesticcoEpetitiveness; an increase in foreip in-vestment in the UK; an increase in Euro-pean sourcing by industry due to moreavailability and cheapness in supplies; andawider choice with lower prices in finishedconsumer goods, except for food.

Food manufacturing industries havebeen 'constrained to purchase dearer com-munity foodstuffs or pay high duties/levieson non-European supplies' says the re-port. 'But while the cost-enhancing effectsof the Cap are well known, the cost-reduc-ing effects of free trade in manufactures isgenerallyignored.'

Despite dissention in the mechanicalengineering industry about the consequ-ences of membership and varied opinionsabout the value ofmembership in the past,the report comes out strongly in favour ofmembership as being no less than 'essen-tial'to the future well-beiug of British in-dustry. It cites a 'striking' unanimityamong industry about the importance ofremaining in the Community, and theselect committee itself is convinced thatmembership has been 'instrumental insustaining trade and industrial activity inthese recent very difficult years'.

The report goes on to warn ofa 'real risk'that the European Community will slidetowards increasing protection of national

'lqnorqnce oboutEUrope is blqmedfor ldduslry'ssluggish re-oction'

markes in tle present ecouomic climate.At best it is likely to prove more rtifficult toseclue agreement where member coun-tries' interests differ.

To combat this tlreat the report recom-mends that the Goverument should act toremove barriers to trade and secondly toprovide information and assistance to helpfirms develop markets in the community.Industry itself should be aware that thefuture of thb British economy must be seenin a European context, the report urges.Videspread misunderstanding and ignor-anceaboutEuropis blamedforindustry'sinitially sluggish reaction to membership.

'Our partners were much quicker off themark in exploiting opportunities in thiscountry, having had fifteen years of experi-ence of membership when we ioinedr' thereport adds. 'Britain has to work to makeupthislead.'

BRITISHBUSINESS

Aboost jorthestripbusinessIn France, characters likeTintin and Asterix have thestatus of folk heroes. Now,the minister for culturalaffairs wants them, andotherpopularcartoonfigures, to be introducedintoFrench schools

I merica has been the uncontested

!l -"st", of the imernational strip

,1"ffi,'il-r#'ffi nHir'#3x,the N ett Y orh W oild n 1883. But today it isthe French who are making a nrme forthemselves in the world ofthe comic book.French cartoonists have developed a new,more serious form which is supposedlymore artistic, and is read by millions ofadults.

Last year the French spet 224 millionfrancs (f,18'85 milliea) on over 22 millioncomic books. In all, 679 new albumsappeared, which was 53 more than the pre-vious year. Nearly half of all French albumshave appeared during the past four years,showing the growing popularity of the stripcartoonin France.

A recent poll showed that 90 per cent ofcomic srip readers iu France are adults.Frenchintellectualslook on them as anew artform. President Mitterrand admits to likingthem,andPierreMauroy, hisPrimeMinister,has said thathe prefers Popeye to Karl Marx.

Jacques l-ang, ttre Minister of Culture, isanotherfan. Herecendyintroducedafundingprogfarnme to support the French strip car-toon industry. Young cartoonists are to getgovernment grants. And the CartoonMuseum at Angoul6me, in South-westeruFrance, has been given a 300,000 franc(f 25,0fi)) government subsidy.

Angoul6meis to the strip cartoonwhat Can-ues is to the cinema. In March of this year anew cart@n art coUege opened in the town;and in June Angoul6me's aunual cartoon fairand exhibitionattractedover 1001000visitors.

Offrcial interest in cartoons in Fraucecomes relatively late. For many years mostcartoon strips in French came from Belgium.The French, like the Belgians, regarded Tin-tin, drawn by the Belgraq cartoonistHerge, as

EUROPE 83

something of a national hero. rVhen GeorgeR6mi, the creator of the strip, died earlier thisyear, France practically went into nationalmourning.

General De Gaulle once compared himselfto Tintin, confiding to his friend and Ministerof Culture, Andr6 Malraux: 'Tintin and I areboth with the little men who won't be putdownbythebigmen.'

DeGaullewentdowninhistoryasoneofthegreat political leaders of his time. But, unlikeTintin, he did not have a weekly magazinenamed after him. For years, 'Tintin' was oneof the most important comic book papers inFrance. More than 80 million Tintin albumsappeared in 26 languages. Tintin films andplays were written. And in the \folwendalParkin Brussels a Tintin statue was erected.

Tintin was the most popular of the Frenchlanguage cartoon characters until 1959, whenAsterix - a little Gaulish warrior with a hornedhelmet and a huge moustache - appeared onthe scene.

The strip was created by two French car-toonists, Ren6 Goscinny, who is now dead,and Albert Uderzo, who is still producing thecartoon.

Asterix first appeared in 'Pilote', a comicbook paper that the two artists had startedwith Jean Michel Charlier, the creator ofvarious strips, including 'Captain Red Beard'and 'Fort Navajo'. '!0ile were looking for a newcharacter, and after studying all the existingcharacters we discovered that there wasn't a

single Gaul among them. And Gauls to theFrench are like cowboys to the Americans,'says Uderzo,

Thanks to Asterix, 'Pilote's' circulationrose from 6,000 to over a million in four years.

'Gquls to the Frenchqre like cowboys tothe Americons/

Originally conceived for children, the strip'ssatire quickly won it an adult audience. In1966 'L'Express', France's answer to'Time'magazine, ran a story on Asterix and put hispicture on the cover. 'Pilote's'circulation in-creased by 15 per cent. Asterix is also the onlycartoon strip that 'Le Monde' has everdeemed worthy to appear in its dignifiedcolumns.

Asterix laid the ground for a number ofother successful French strips, among themJean Claude Forest's 'Barbarellar'a sexy sci-ence fiction heroine, and'Guy L'Eclair', hermaleequivalent.

Barbarella was an instant success in Franceand abroad. But a number ofpeople found heroffensive, includingMme De Gaulle, who in-sisted that she should be 'decently clothed'.t0fhen the strip appeared as an album in 1964,the artist eventually complied and 'clothed'her.

In 1966 a new French cartoonist, PhilippeDruillet, came out with a Barbarella imita-

NEUolzzo@

ouzuIFEU6J

ozotroU@oo

tion, called 'Lone Sloane'. Initially it was a

fiasco, but Druillet improved it to create whatwas to become an artistically remarkable car-toon.

In addition to'Pilote' France now has fiveother big cartoon papers for adults:'L'Echodes Savanes', created by Gotlib, NandrykaandBr6t6cherin 1973, broughtcontemporaryissues of sex and violence to the French comicbook stage. 'Metal Hurlant'dealswith sciencefriction in the tradition of Jules Verne. 'Char-lie' and'Circus' bothconsistofthrillers toldinpicture form. And Gotlib's 'Fluide Gacial'specialises in biting potitical satire.

In France the theatre, cinema and televi-sion all currently vie with each other to put onimaginative versions of popular cartoonstrips. But, although the comics are currentlya thriving business for French publishers,some of them think that the market could dis-appear. Louis Gerard, the head of Caster-

man's cartoon section, is one of them. 'Theadults who read the strips nowadays to amusethemselves are used to readingr' he says.'They have read since childhood, when theywere brought up on Donald Duck, Tintin andPrince Valliant. Today, children preferwatching television to reading comic books . Ifthey didn't read comics as children, it is un-likely that they will start reading them as

adults.'French Culture Minister Jacques Lang

wants to stimulate interest among children byintroducing certain well-known cartoon char-acters into school curricula. American car-toons have been invading Europe for decades.Perhaps now is the timefor French strips to re-verse the trend, The new French strips arealready popular amongst American intellec-tuals and many of the larger American news-papers are showing interest in syndicationrights. Gl

2t

EUROPE 83

Henriette Poirier, Fraace:'Can the Commission Eeasure thepart played by the multinationalcompanies in, and their impact on,agricultural trade, particularly ex-ports from the developing coun-tries?'Answerby PouI Dalsager onbehalf of the Csmmissisa;'The Commission's staff does notpossess adequate resources for car-rying out forecasts or analyses ofagricultural trade at world level.The forecasts aud studies carriedout within the Commission are nor-mally conffned to Communitytrade.

How€ver, the Commi$isn (sspsabreast offorecasts and studies con-cerning world trade which aredrawn up by other organisations.

lIith particular reference to therole and impact of multinationalcompanies in agricultural trade,especially as regards the exports ofdeveloping countries, the UnitedNations Centre on TransnationalCorporations has published a studyentitled'Transaational Coopera-tion in Food and Beverage Proces-sing'(NewYork 1981).

This study shows rhat the exportof foodstuffs from developing coun-tries, which make up about 25 percent oftheir food production, has al-ways been a majorfield of activiry fortransnatioual corporations (TNCs).The role played by TNCs in uade insuch products and their degree ofvertical integration have been de-veloping rapidly.

The TNCs still control a largepart of trade in a number of productssuch as bananas (three companiescontrol 70 per cent of trade), tea(eight companies conuol 90 percentof trade), fishery producs (hiChconcentration in the processing in-dustry) and canned fruit. The TNCsmake less impact on uade in pro-ducts such as vegetable oils andcocoa. They paly only a limited rolein trade in sugar and meat.

The TNCs control all ttre stages ofproduction of some productsthrough to the distribution ofpro-cessed products (e.g. tea, bananas).In otler cases, it is rare for TNCs toinvolve ttremselves in actual grow-ing (e.g. cocoa, coffee). Instead,tieybuy ttre raw commodities fromlocal marketing companies.

Mario Sassano, Italy:'In connection with the safetycriteria adopted by European Com-munity countries lor 16s siting ofnuclear power stations, can theCommission state, for each Com-munity country, the legal provi-sions laying down ft s minimrrm fi s-tance between the sites of nuclearpower stations and centres ofhabitation? Can it also provide thesame data in respect of the USA andJapan?'

22

Answer by Karl.Heinz Naries onbehalf of the Commission:'The selection of sites for nuclearpower stations is carried out by eachmember state according to criteriawhich are peculiar to that memberstate.

For ttre most part, the memberstates ofthe Community do nothaverUles on minimrrm distances frOmpopulation centres when sitingpow-er stations; Devertheless, thepopulation distribution in ttre areaaround a potential site is taken intoaccount when making a final choiceon the site, its development, the de-sign of the power station and thedrawing up of emergenry plans.

Only Italy and the Nettrerlandshave rules on the population densitylimits for the various given concen-tric zones around a power station.

The United States and Japan laydown exclusion zones, low popula-tion density zones and minimrrmdistances from large populationcentres, these being based on cal-culations oftie dose to an individualshould radioactive substances be re-leased into the atmosphere follow-ing a given hypothetical accident.

All ttre problems connected withttre selection of sites for nuclearpower stations are being thoroughlydiscussed in a Commission VorkingParty for "Water reactor safety,methodologies, criteria, codes andsta:ndards".'

Rudolf Iledekind, FederalRepublicofGernany:'Does the Commission share theview that a European parallel cur-rency could lead to more quicklyand economically to a Communitycrutency rran agreement betweennational governments ?'Answer by Francois.Xavier Ortolion behalf of the Conmission:'The Commission has not, hitierto,undenaken any studies on the intro-duction ofa European parallel cur-rency as a frst step towards the crea-tion of a Community currency, nordoes itintend to do so.

However, the Commission takesthe view that, in the ECU, the Euro-pean Economic Community alreadyIrcssesses a currency unit which canperform a valuable function as tieexpression of the Community'smonetary identity in the context ofboth the future development of theworld monetary system and ofintra-Communityneeds.

The Commission has made sever-al proposals for the wider use oftheECU, e.g. in March 1982 inits draftResolution on the development of

the European Monetary System,and in April I 983 in its Communica-tion to the Council on financial in-tegtation. Finally, ia May 1983, inits Communication to the Councilon the promotion of the internation-aI role of tle ECU the Commissionproposed that the promotion of theprivate use of the ECU should takeplace uader three main headings:the status of the ECU, the fields inwhich it is used, and protection ofthe designation ECU. In this Com-munication &s Qsmmissisa p1s-sented the Council with a draft Re-solution expressing the intention ofthe relevant authorities to take allttre measures necessary to ensurethat ECU operations are treated, inthe context oftheir internal regula-tions, as foreign currency opera-tions.

This draft Resolution is at presentunder evsmination by the MonetaryCommittee.'

Lord O'Hagan, United Kitrgdom:'It is widely alleged that the EECwill force Britain to harmonise therate of VAT on baby clothes andfood with those obtaini.g in othermember states. To what erteat isthis true?'AnewerbyChristopherTugendhat on behalf of thecommiseion:'Under Article 2E(2) of the SixthCouncil Directive of.17 May 1977,the Council is to review reau".drates of VAT and exemptions withrefund ofthe tax paid at the preced-ing stage everyfve years onthe basisof a repon from the Commi55iqaand, where appropriate, is to adoptthe measures required to ensuretheir progressive abolition, actingungnimously on a proposal from theCommission.

The Commission submitted itsfu st five-yearly repon to the Councilon 17 January 1983. The report,which covers all the temporary ex-emptions provided for by Anicle 28,has been discussed by the Council adhoc working party and is crurentlybeing examined in meetings be-tween the Commission departmentsand member states' administra-tions.' '

Horst Seefeld, Federal RepublicofGernany:'Tourists trzvelling to Greece bycarare still requfued to carry a gfeencard or to take out expensive addi-tional insuance at the border.

!7hat measures has the Commis-sion taken to ensure that the greencard check at the Greek border isabolished?'

Answer by ChristopherTugendhat on behalf of theCommission:'As the Commission explained in itsalswer to Vritten Question No2217180 by the Honourable Mem-ber, checks otr green insurancecards at the Greek frontier can beabolished only when civil liability inrespect of vehicles registered inGreecehas been extended to the ter-ritories of the other member statesand when ttre Greek National MotorInsurers' Bureau has signed theSupplementary Agreement be-tween national bureaux.

The first condition was met withPresidential Decree No l0l9 of 4September 1981. As to the secondcondition, the Greek NationalMotor Insurers' Bureau has not asyet seen fit to sip the Sup-plementary Agreement of 12 De-cember 1973, on account ofdifficul-ties stemming from thefacr that thelegal basis necessary for the opera-tion and financing of the Bureaudoes not yet exist.

The Commission has repeatedlyreminded the competetrt Greek de-partments of the need to to complywith the requirement, which hasbeen binding on Greece since IJanuary 1981.'

Basilde Feranti, UdtedKingdom:'How does the Commission intendto ensure that there will not be ashortage of grah in the UnitedKingdom after the nex growingseason and to avoid the intolerablesituation tlat has arisen this yearwhere grainerpons from the UnitedKingdom at J millisl 1qa5 lsys 1s-sulted in such a shortage that theprice ofbarley has risento f,135 a tonin a record harvest year?'Answer by PouI Dalsager onbehalf of the Commiesion:'As the Community is a single mar-ket for cereals with common sup-port prices aad the flow ofcerealsqdthin ths Qqmmunity and to thirdcounuies is thus a matter of marketforces and individual trading deci-sions rrithin the framework of thesecornmon support prices, the Com-mission and member states draw upannual balance sheets as a basis for$sl1 manegem gats of the barley andother cereal markets.

The Commission does not pro-pose to interfere with this freedomof trading activity but notes that theUnited Kingdom took into in-tervention during 1982i1983 heavystocks of both barley and wheat.These are currently running at 480000 tonnes for barley and 3750 000tonnes for wheat. The interventionagency in the United Kingdom, as inother member states, may sell theirstocks on the internal market if thesituation requires it. It seens dif-ficult in gs5s cilsrmslances tospeak ofa shortage ofbarley in theUnitedKingdom.'

QUEltTr0NSIN I}IE HOI'SE

EUROPE 83

The cash runsout in 1984

-Tugendhat

[s Commis5ien is notbankrupt.Itis not even technically bankrupt. Butit needs more motrey next year if it isto meet its obligations.

This was the message conveyed by theCommissioner for budgets, ChristopherTugendhat, in an interview wittr Giles Merrittbefore the opening of this month's summittalksinAthens.

The Community, Mr Tugendhat ex-plained, faces two quite different budgetarycrises. He said:

'The first of these concerns the limits on au-thorised expenditure, while the second has todo with the limits placed on the Community'stotal resources. The Community budgetproblem this yearhas concerned only the for-mer problem, and to overcome that the Com-missiondrew up a supplemenury budget. Butit is the latter problem that makes the presentanempts by the Ten to agree a new budgetaryframework so crucial.

'It is now obvious that we shall hit the ceil-ing of the Community's total resources - thevarious duties and levies and the product ofupto aoneper centVAT charge in eachmemberstate-in 1984.

It is not possible to forecast exacdy when.Butitisclear, onpresent trends, thatnextyearwill be the year when the Community's com-mitments outstrip its budgetary resources.And that moment will represent an importantlegal landmark. The Commission cannotspendmoneythattheCommunityhasnot got.

'This year, EEC spending has been runningat 99.4 per cent ofavailable resources. lVhen,and if, we hit the 100 per cent mark, we willnot gobust, asacompanywould. Butthatceil-ing is nevertheless an absolute limit. I7e can-not spend above it, nor can we even borrowfunds to tide the Commuuity over while thenegotiations on a new budgetary regime con-tinue between theMember States.

'In other words, if the Ten fail to introducenew aud increased "own resources" for theCommunity, or if they fail at least to put inplace someinterim arrangementlsa.ling up tothis, we should be unable to meet all ourobligations. I very much hope that situationwillnotoccur.'

As people are consumers and producers aswell as taxpayers, Mr Tugendhat added, whatthey lose as taxpayers can be more than madeup for by improved economic activity. '!7e inthe Commission believe that certain thingscan be more efficiently done at EEC level. Soincreased Communiry expenditure cau meaneither a drop in member states' overall level ofpublic spending, or it can yreld greater be-nefits for the same volume of spenriing.'

UK's small finns are nearthebottom of the leagge

mall firms in Britain have less goingfor them than in any of the tenEuropean Community countriesexceptltaly, accordingto a study

prepared by the Economist IntelligenceUnit @IU) for the European Year of Smalland Medium-Sized Enterprises.

Britain ranks ninth in a European leaguetable drawn from the study by an assessmeotpanel of three- Vernon !7eaver, former admi-nistrator of the USA's Small Business Arlmi-nistration, Bill Poeton, convenor of EYSMEeventsin theUK, aud Diarmid Mcl,aughlin,director, EC economic and social committee.

In a breakdown of environmental factorsaffecting small businesses, Britein gs6ss 1spof the league in tax considerations. But thisfactor is not given as big aweightingas labourcosts and employment legislation in whichBritain again ranks ninth out of ten.

The UK ranks bottom in the league tablewhen it comes to the costs of office and factoryspace. Graham Bannock, managing directorof the EIU, underlined this factor at a pressconference to announce the preliminary re-sults ofthe study by pointing out that factoryspace in Britain costs more ttran in any othermember state of the Community - [2.55 sqftcompared with 70 pence in Belgium, wherecosts are lowest. OfEce accommodation alsocosts more in Britain at f7.60sqft againstBelgium's€2.32.

On capital andcredit ttre UK does less bad-ly, ranking seventh. But in a category cover-ing positive discrimination in legislation Bri-tain is 6g3i11 61 the very bottom ofthe league.

Comparative data presented in the EIUstudy on thelegal and economic environmentfor SMEs in Europe has been ranked in orderoffavourabilitytoprofitmqximisation. Thisiswhy Britain comes off much better in the taxfield, where tax paid as a percentage ofprofitsis lower tI an in most other member states. Innone of the eight specific taxitems listed in theleague table does Briuin drop lower than sixthoutofthe tencountries, althoughitis believedthat personal taxation in Britein affects smallbusiness owners badly by preventing themfrom taking money out of their businesses,thus dissipating capital.

Not covered by the EIU srudy is the prob-lem facing all businesses in the Community'sinternal market, in which non-tariffbarriersto trade, such as differing technical standardsand cumbersome bureaucratic procedures,are thought 1o 69 sqs'ing the business sectorfTbillionayear.

The definition of a medium-sized businessfor the purpose of the study is one employingless than 500 people. A small business is oneemployingless than 50. However, the assess-ment panel believe that small businesses arerecognised by the nature of their problemsrather than by the number of employees.

lettersCride coeur

InBritainwe can anddo sell orbuyourhouses, flats, land etc without benefit ofsolicitors. Here in France, you may sell (butnot buy) your real estate without using aruaaire.Iflhy eonot one buy real estate herewithout using a notaire ?

Answer: it's the law. You must-nay, arecompelled - to use the services of a notary(aud pay heavily for the privilege) . Seedecrees of4.1. L955 atd78.262 of8.3.1978.

Hereis agood opporrunity for the EECanti-monopolies or anti-cartel committee toget their teeth into the French legal system -and jolly good luck to them!

JohnOrpenYwlines,France

Moremeansworse?

Adeline Baumann ('!fatch it - we are beingoutnumbered', October issue) says'thedemographic status of Europe is likely tosufler' if it comes to represent a smaller

proportion ofworld population; that Spainand Pornrgal are'contaminated by the whiteplague' (lower rate of population growth);and thatfigures showing someincrease ofpopulation are 'less pessirnistic' than one thatshows a small decrease.

Obviously, ttre author regards increases ofpopulationas good, and stable ordecreasingly populations as bad. Moreover,she takes it for granted that her readerr willthink the same- a truly astonishing attitudein 1983.

The high-sqssrrmption lifestyle of theEuropean Communitymeans that eachaddition to populatiou numbers has manytimes the impact on demand for resoruces asd6xl lssulting from a similar addition in theundeveloped world. Moreover, there is nothreat that Europe will be 'outbred'; over-population weakens nations, and Europe willbe stronger ifit is less dependent on heavyimports of raw materials and fuels.

In spite ofall that has been written inrecent years about the conflict betweengrowing population and a finite world,atavistic pro-natalism is clearly still a force tobe reckoned with - and vigorously opposed.

JohnDavollThe Conservation Society,

Chertsey, Surrey23

EUROPE S3

srr'{mgHE

pMnns

Solar collecting pands have beeninstalled into three PeterboroughDevelopment Corporatioa housesin Gostwick, Onoa Brimbles, asprt of a proiect conducted byscientists and eogineers from thePolnectrnic of Central Londoa,with the aid of a f50,@ grant fromtheEEC.

Tsoofthehouseswillbeavailable for rent at the end ofthemont}, and a spokeman for theC-orporation expects there will be adeluge of people waoting to moveinto the cost-saving houses.

- Peterborough Standard

Bonn is prepred to go to theEuropean Court in Luxembourg toupholdVestGerman s4An-year-old beer purity law, on healtigrounds, qgtinst imPone of'adulterated' foreip beers orderedby the European Commission.

Dr Heiner Geissler, tbe HealthMinister, yesterday told a breweis'convention in Nuremburg that'ourbeer law says it may be made onlyfron hops, malt, yeast and water.'

The European Commissiondaims the German law, wbich datesfron 1493, infringes the Treaty ofRome, which forbids importrestrictions.

-TheTimes

ll1[6sg than f, t(X) million sorth sfcheap Common Market butter mayhave beeo sent secretly to Russia.

The alleeed fiddle broke a tradeembarge imposed after Russiainvaded Afghanistan in 1981. Cubathen became a maior buyer ofsurplus EEC butter at a subsidisedpriceof33pperpound.

EEC bosses iu Bnrssels thinksome of the 50,fi10 tons bought byCuba war diverted to Russia whilethe ships were still at sea.

-DailyMirror

Spain's Felipe Goozales andPornrgal's Maria Soares have bothrecendy said of the CommonMarket or European EconomicCommunity,'If we arc aot wanted,tet it be said aod we'll lookelsewhere.'

Ironically, both prime ministersare Socialistsandtheyareirriatedat another Socialist-led country,France, for ttre lack of progres.

This question was top of ttre billat an informal neeting last monthof the five Socialist prime ministusof southero Eumpe. In addition tothe two aspirant countries, two ofthe original EEC countries Franceand luly, led respectively by PiereMauroy aud Rettino Craxi werealso there. The meeting was hostedby Greece in aresort just outsideAthens.

-MorningSur24

The Government has opened theway for imports of long-life milkfrom Europe despite warniags thatit could mean the end of doorstepdeliveries and a subsequent loss of50,Ofi)iobs.

Regulations to permit importswerelaidintheCommonsyesterday and the milk could be oasale in Briain from Noveinber 16.

France, Holland, Belgium andIreland are already geared up withcartons printed ia Fnglish.

Unions fear that if imported milkis sold at several pence apintcheaper than the 2 Ip charged fordelivered milk, there would be amajor sritch to supermarketbuying. Dairies have warned thatonly a l0 per cent switch is neededto make milk rounds uneconomic.

-DailyMail

The Eumpean Court of lustice isdoing its bit to ensure that iustice isseen to be done- by having thewindowsofitshandsomeheadquarten in Lurembourgcleaned 12 timesayear. TheEECCommission makes do with half adozeo cleanings, andtle EuropeanParliament sith between tbree andsix.

-Guardian

Relations between French andSpanish Socialists have reached alow ebb amid mouating frustrationin Spainaboutthefailureto resolveEuropeao Comnunity entrynegotiations.

The Spanish Socialist Parqy'sfive-member delegation walked outofthe closing session ofthe Frenchparty's congress at Bourg-en-Bresseon Sundayafteranunsuccessful bid to change ttre textof the resolution concerning EECenlargement.

-TheTimes

Rebel Tory Euro MPs helped tofreeze Britaio'e s457 millionC-ommon Market rebate inStrasbourgyesterday.

Euro MPs decided by 262 votesto 52 to freeze Britain's refund,another for Vect Germany and fiveper cent ofagricultural frrads.

Theyare deternined to securelong-term EEC budgetnry reforms.Unless aaAthens $rmmit i1December produces satisfactorychanges, they could tbrow out theentireMarketbudget.

-Daily Express

First prize: t2.8 million 1s rhsBritish Conservative party. Secondprize: 09fi),fiD to the Iabourparty. Third prize: f250,fi[ to theUberal-social Democraticalliance. The bulk of the first andsecond prizes will be paid inadvance, the third prize will only beawarded after the game is over.

The contest is next June'selectioo to the Europeanparliament. The sums cif money arewhat the three main Britishcontenders will receive ifthey doapproximately as well as they did inthe British general election on June9th. The amount paid will only varysligbtly with performance.

-Economist

The latest forecagt of a lower EECcereals crop is fi nal confrmationthat the comnon agdcultualpolicy (CAP) had the luck of thedevil in 1983. Predictions lastspring that CAP spending wouldforce the Community to go bust byyear-end were confouoded by a rarecoalition of market forces - andsome sleight of hand byCommunity accountants whopushed 250m ECUs (f 145m) of1983 spending forward to nextyear.

-Economist

A confidential report by five topbanks has concluded that sufEcientsources ofprivals financs gxi51 1sbuild a f,5bn cross-Channel link.But thereport, nowbeing studiedby transportministers in London,Paris and Brussels, wanm ttrat adecision to go ahead must betakensoon while funds are available.

The favoured scheme is for a'lslling road'- a twin-bore tunnelwith rail facilities for passengersand for roll-on/roll-off traf0c. Theautlors ofthe report believe such ascheme is'economically robust andtechnically feasible.'

-SundayTimes

These rebels would presumablyargue that they are thinkinginterms ofsolutioas ss sCommunity,6ths1 than g pursly uational orBritish basis. That is the danger ofhaving a lot of Euro-MPs living,working and swanning about inEurope. For all that, it seems thatthe freezing of Britain's rebate willnot last very long. There aremechanisms for challeneing it. TheEuropean Parliamenttnay come toits senses.

-DailyTelegraph

Ba.a'as and pineapples exponedto Europe may contain pesticideresidue, Vera Squarcialupi (Italy)told the European Parliament.

The reason is tlat although thereis strict control over theuse ofpesticides in the USA and theCommunity, there are no rulesgoverning the pesticides that maybeerported to the developingcountries.

The Vorld Health Organisationestimates that about 2100,000 peoplein the Third \[orld may bepoisoned this year. Around 10,000willdie.

Mrs Squarcialupi tabled aresolution calling on theCommission to bring pesticideexports under tighter control. Thiswas adopted by 96votes to nilwithoneabstention.

-EPNews

After days ofagonising andbackstairs bargaining with otherpolitical groups, most Tories foundthemselves favouriag the stategysupponed by the vast maiority ofthe parliament, butunable tostomach the proposed methods.

Fearing the wrath of DowningStreet and possible politicalretributiou in next year's Euro-elections, most Tories votedagainst freeziry the British rebate.But to the obvious discomfort ofthrgroup's leader, Sir Henry Plumb,up to a dozen rebels were among thrMEPs votingto put the payment onice.

-FinancialTime