TNAG-1580-FCO40-2154-Extension-to-Hong-Kong-of-European-Community--European-Free-1987 — Page 24

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS LONDON SW1A OPW

PA 3 ра

371/3

}\

01-219 3000 (Switchboard) 01-219 6081(Direct Line)

Our ref: EI 61/104/20 s.1

Dear Markin,

23 December 1986

Guster Caton re pan? Выбки Copies of Gen Grief on Cattibil por: & Veabook on legal sple but to bey Alus.

Све

EEC/EFTA Working Party on a Parallel Convention to the

1968 EC Judgments Convention

Thank you for your helpful letter of 8 December 1986. As you will see from the attached note of the EEC Co-ordination Group meeting, and from the note of the EEC/EFTA meeting

(attached) I drew on the arguments you gave me especially the point at (c) dealing with UN practice. For once, the Swiss seemed to be stunned into silence.

30/12

At the meeting of the EEC Group, I disclosed the names of those territories in respect of which the UK might consider a declaration of extension (i.e. Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos Islands). I did not, however, disclose this to the EFTA countries in view of the wish, expressed particularly by France, that the EC countries should submit a joint paper to the EFTA side. The discussion with the EFTA countries was therefore kept general, but France made the useful point that it was not prepared to enter into negotiations on a territory-by-territory on the application of the Parallel Convention. This was a point I took up for the UK, stressing the distinction between giving, on the one hand, an indication of the territories to which the UK would extend the Parallel Convention and, on the other hand, negotiating individual extensions. France (supported by the UK) asked Norway to supply, as a quid pro quo, information on the status of Spitzbergen.

The outcome of the meeting is that the EC countries concerned (France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and the UK) will prepare contributions to a paper to be discussed on

/...2

MR Eaton Esq

Legal Advisers

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London

SW1A 2AH

WITH 371/3.

RECEIVED ** REGISTRY

- 6 JAN 1987

ICER

REGISTRY

on Taken

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