TNAG-1260-FCO40-1600-Briefings-for-Ministers-and-FCO-officials-on-the-future-of-H-1983 — Page 50

STEERING BRIEF FOR THE PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING WITH DR

LUBBERS ON 19 SEPTEMBER

BSRRIC

INTRODUCTION

1. Dr Lubbers was pleased to agree to the Prime

Minister's suggestion that they should meet in The Hague

on 19 September, before her visit to British Forces

Germany (BFG) and Bonn. With more than two hours of

formal talks, preceded by the informal talks over lunch,

there will be time for some detailed discussion.

i

UK OBJECTIVES

2. On Community matters (Brief No. ), the Prime Minister

will want to express her appreciation of the generally

helpful and positive attitude of the Dutch, about which

she wrote to Dr Lubbers after Stuttgart. She will in

particular want to seek their support for our safety net

proposals as a fair and lasting solution to our problem

and to warn them that the Danish 'convergence fund'

proposal would not adequately provide for this. She will

want to welcome in particular the firm support we have

had from the Dutch for our proposal for a strict

financial guideline to control CAP expenditure and to

urge them to continue to resist objectionable features of

the Commission's proposals for CAP reform such as the

idea for a tax on vegetable oils.

3. On external trade issues (Brief No. ) the Prime

Minister may want to discuss the Community's reaction to

recent measures taken by the US to protect their steel