impede the military nuclear activities of the United Kingdom; nor shou it occasion to nuclear operators in the civil field any greater inconvenience than they could expect to experience because of the offer made by the United Kingdom, in connection with the Non-Proliferation Treaty, to accept certain safeguards in relation to its civil nuclear programme. Nor would we envisage any difficulty for the United Kingdom arising from any agreement on safeguards between Euratom and the International Atomic Energy Agency, pursuant to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
164. The Euratom Treaty is also designed to ensure that all users in the Community receive a regular and equitable supply of ores and nuclear fuels. But this part of the Treaty is at present under revision. The Community have agreed to let us have their proposals before adopting them and we will be consulted about them.
165. It has also been agreed that we shall pay no entry fee in return for our access to the capital assets and scientific information held by this Community. At the same time, in recognition of the fact that we will have access to the complete stock of nuclear knowledge acquired by Euratom during its life, we have agreed to deposit knowledge of equivalent value with Euratom immediately after our accession.
The other applicants and the EFTA non-applicants
166. The negotiations between the Community and the other applicants for membership, Norway, Denmark and the Irish Republic, have made considerable progress. All concerned hope that it will be possible to conclude the negotiations with these countries in time to allow all four applicants to join the Community simultaneously.
167. The non-candidate members of EFTA (Austria, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland), and Finland (an associate member of EFTA) are seeking arrangements with the Community which would vary, country by country, depending on their economic and political position. All of these countries are at present engaged in discussions with the Community.
168. We and our EFTA partners have stated in communiqués after several Ministerial meetings that we have a strong interest in maintaining, as part of the enlarged Community, the free trade already established in EFTA and in avoiding the re-erection of tariff barriers between members of EFTA.
169. EFTA Governments have also expressed their desire that the arrangements for the non-candidate members of EFTA should come into force at the same time as the enlargement of the Community. So has the Community.
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