TNAG-0047-FCO40-83-Britain-s-entry-into-EEC-effect-on-trade-with-Hong-Kong-1967 — Page 32

CONFIDENTIAL

Declaration of Britain's responsibilities for her

Dependent Territories

1 Sir A. Snelling said that three questions presented them-

selves about such a declaration:

what purpose would it serve

what form would it take, and what would it say? Mr. Cowperthwaite

said that the object would not be to create any new obligation

but merely to reaffirm for political and presentational purposes

what would be true anyway. He would prefer a declaration to take

the form of an annex to Britain's instruments of accession, but

if the British Government saw great difficulty in this, he would

be prepared to accept as a second best a statement in Parliament.

He would prefer a declaration to refer to all British dependent

territories, rather than to single out Hong Kong. Mr. Haddon-

Cave added that, while it was likely most other British dependent

territories would become associated with the enlarged Community ,

which would in practice safeguard their interests, Britain would

still have the Same continuing responsibility for them as for

Hong Kong. Mr. Audland pointed out that all precedents indicated

that any document annexed to Britain's instruments declaration,

would have to be cleared with the Six. There was therefore a

risk, to put it no higher, that the Six would either object to,

the making of such a declaration or attach unacceptable

conditions to it. Mr Gallagher added that if we had tried and

failed to make a satisfactory declaration in this form, it might

be hard to revert to the idea of a Parliamentary statement without

provoking the Six.

•

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CONFIDENTIAL

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