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Gorbachev's forthcoming visit will mark his fourth substantive meeting with my rt hon friend the Prime Minister. We have frequent and varied Ministerial contacts; we are giving priority to developing people-to- people exchanges, and trade on prudent
commercial terms.
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Our relations with the countries of Eastern Europe are developing
too. We offer a simple and commonsense message. Economic liberalisation requires political liberalisation. This message does not threaten. It promises a more secure and prosperous future for Eastern Europe, and ultimately for the Soviet Union also.
My Lords, where NATO is the guarantor of our security, the European Community is the guarantor of our prosperity. Indeed it is more than that. As my rt hon friend the Prime Minister said in Bruges,
we in the UK see our destiny lying in Europe. We are stronger for being part of the Community and through it we are able to project our values more widely and effectively.
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- The Bruges speech has been the subject of much comment much of
which has missed the point. The speech in fact addressed the question of how we, the member states of the European Community, can best apply our separate and individual strengths to the practical tasks we face as part of a common commitment to work towards what the Treaty of Rome calls the ever closer union of our peoples. Anyone who takes the trouble to read the speech for himself will
realise this.]
The Community is in the middle of an exciting period of
consolidation and development. This country is playing a leading part in charting the course for example in consistently calling for the creation of the Single Market, control of agricultural spending, and reform of the budget. We have secured important advances in all
three areas. Our priorities now are for further liberalisation -
and we shall be pressing for more progress at the Rhodes summit next
week. We have a record of solid achievement on which to build.
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