NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
W(B)L 51-7406
CONFIDENTIAL
1
26.
25.
for whom it is agreed to be
appropriate.
(e) an assurance, in the interests of
those who will not become
associated with the EEC, that the
transitional period for the
application to them of the CET
should begin at the same time as
negotiations for association for
the other countries (i.e. the
beginning of 1974).
The above arrangements would by and
large solve the problems of the independent
Commonwealth countries of our EEC entry.
Arrangements for sugar are dealt with in a
separate paper. There may remain certain
problems over bananas and citrus fruits.
British Ministers have given their
Caribbean counterparts an undertaking on
bananas that "if the Caribbean Commonwealth
countries were to become associated with
the EEC, the British Government would seek
rights for them equivalent to the special
arrangements already operating within the
EEC for traditional suppliers".
These special arrangements range from a Protocol
to the Rome Treaty allowing duty-free
entry into Germany for bananas, to strict
import controls operated by France in
favour of her former colonial territories.
No assurance has been given by HMG to the
Caribbean Governments over safeguarding
their citrus interests.
(111) Botsvana, Lesotho and Swaziland
/27. The