TNAG-1422-FCO40-1905-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-Sub-Committee-on-Race-Relations-and--1986 — Page 197

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January. An intergovernmental agreement should be ready by February. A joint statement had been prepared for issue at the present meeting. He had also agreed a confidential note with M. Auroux ensuring that lorry traffic through the Channel Fixed Link would not be hampered by quantitative restrictions in France and dealing also with the prospects of an improved lorry network on the UK side.

36. Agreement had been reached on drivers' hours at the previous Thursday's Council of Ministers meeting. But there had been no agreement on coastal shipping trades. This had to be concluded by the end of the year if there were not to be

serious delays as a result of Spanish and Portuguese accession. If necessary the Ministers would meet again before Christmas. Anglo-French agreement was important in this

context.

37. M. Auroux emphasised the importance to France of keeping to the timetable for a CFL agreement. For French internal political reasons the Treaty needed to be signed by February. He thought it valuable that the railways were being encouraged to co-operate over the prospects of a rail link. France looked for a more liberal policy from the UK on lorry weights, to bring the present 38 ton limit up to 40 tons.

38. The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of keeping

confidential the second of the two documents agreed by Transport Ministers. Anything which might be seen as having implications for lorry weights was very sensitive in the

United Kingdom.

TERRORISM

39. Mr Hurd welcomed the full discussion he had had with M. Joxe and reported on the good record of bilateral co-operation between the two governments and French and British agencies. He had warned M. Joxe about the possibility

of intensification of Irish terrorism in the short term

following the Anglo-Irish agreement. He was grateful for the

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