CONFIDENTIAL
adoption by the Community of the globalisation solution for those products where the Community had very high (over 40%) import
penetration. We would not want the Council to be stuck on this tack but if it were to prove able to break deadlock at the Council, Ministers might consider accepting it.
21. It is unlikely that the Council will want to set up a working group to deal with further amendments to the Commission proposals and we would not want the draft now before the Council to be unpicked. If, nevertheless, a group is set up, we would want the following points to be included:
(i)
(ii)
the replacement of the words "having regard to global
import ceilings" by "within the global import ceilings" (paragraphs 2, 6 and 8 of the Commission's proposal) "having regard to" increases the doubts raised in (i) above about the strict observance of ceilings. Provided however we secure satisfaction on (i) above we need not press for this amendment.
The deletion of the word "significant" in the description of growth rates (paragraph 4, line 5 of the Commission proposals). We want to make it clear that no supplier of sensitive products can necessarily expect an annual growth rate as high as 6 per cent.
European Integration Department (External)
2 May 1977
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