PART TWO
THE OUTCOME OF THE NEGOTIATIONS
67. Negotiations with the Communities opened on 30 June, 1970. Twelve months of intensive discussions have taken place since then and, apart from fisheries, all the crucial issues have now been dealt with. The following paragraphs set out the agreements arrived at and also the stage reached on the small number of matters which remain to be settled.
68. More work remains to be done, however, including detailed elaboration of some agreements already reached in principle and the drafting of the Treaty of Accession. In addition, we shall be continuing to examine closely with the Community their detailed rules and provisions in order to determine what adaptations may be necessary to meet the circumstances of this country and of the enlarged Community. A number of adaptations have been agreed to suit our needs and in certain cases appropriate transitional provisions or delays to the entry into force of Community rules have been decided upon. It now seems most improbable that any significant problems remain to be identified. English texts of all the instruments by which we should be affected, including the agreed adaptations, would be made available to Parliament when any legislation was introduced to give effect to the obligations that we should be assuming on accession to the Communities.
Participation and voting in the Communities' institutions
69. No problems arose over Britain's participation in the institutions of the Communities. It has been agreed that from the start the United Kingdom should have a position in the institutions equal to that enjoyed by France, Germany and Italy.
70. The Council of Ministers is the body which takes all the major decisions about Community policy. In the Council the appropriate British Minister will be present together with representatives of the nine other member states. As has been made clear in paragraph 30 above, where member states' vital interests are at stake, it is Community practice to proceed only by unanimity. Most Council decisions are taken on the basis of a proposal by the Commission. It is already provided in the Treaty that certain Council decisions have to be taken by unanimous vote. In those cases where qualified majority with weighting of votes is provided for in the Treaty, the votes of the members of the Council would have the following weighting:
Germany
Italy
Belgium
Luxembourg Ireland
...
France United Kingdom
10
10
5
Netherlands
2
...
3
Denmark Norway
...
10
10
5
3
...
3
...
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In these cases, where the Council decision follows a proposal by the Commission, the decisions of the Council are to be effective only if at least 43 votes are cast in their favour. In some cases the Treaty provides that
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