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6
of 290 million people will
rlliss
this
tide, just as it missed the last one,"
wrote the influential British publication,
The EconomisJ.
Britain's present home
market of only
56
million people is not
large enough to sustain a healthy rate of
industrial growth with Commonwealth
trade on the decline.
Of course, the British home market
would open up more to the industrious
Germans, Italians and other Continen–
tals as well. But government leaders
hope this stern challenge will force
sluggish British industry and the iras–
cible, unpredictable, strike-ridden Brit–
ish labor force to shape up. The British
have a long history of working or fight–
ing hard only when their backs are up
against the wall. Perhaps nothing more
is needed in the British economy today
than a "Spirit of Dunkirk" attitude.
Make Europe Over British Style
The second primary reason for Brit–
ain joining the Common Market is her
desire to help shape and direct the des–
tiny of Western Europe from the
i1uide
while there is still time.
The Common Market is not yet fully
integrated economically; and political
union - the stated goal of the Treaty
of Rome - is a distant, not completely
defined objective.
Prime Minister Edward Heath told
newsmen at a conference in Lancaster
House, London, on July
12:
"As far as the political sphere and
the defense sphere are concerned, there
are no institutions there. There are no
undertakings. When we become a mem–
ber we shall take our part in the devel–
opment of whatever may come about,
and we shall take a very full and
wholehearted part. Aod we shall, there–
fore, help to develop them in the way
which we want to see them come
about."
The time is still ripe for Britain to
have a say in how the New Europe is to
be created.
Many in Britain (and in other
nations of Europe;) shudder to think of
a powerful, politically united Europe
without the stabilizing influence of Brit–
ain. They know fuU well that, in the
past, dictators have arisen in Germany,
France and ltaly - leaders whose
power-mad schemes took them on
The
PLAIN TRUTH
blood-soaked rampages across Europe.
The very idea that such a dictator
could tbis time
begin
with a united
Europe instead of conqueriog his
oeighbors in order to achieve it is
a
shuddering thought!
Pro-market British leaders, therefore,
hope to forestall any such dangerous
union by making sure Britain is on the
imide
where she will be better able to
wield inRuence and give direction. Loo–
don
can
no longer play her traditional
role of the aloof "holder of the balance
of power'' in Europe while outside the
market. Both France and Germany,
linked in a
1963
friendship pact, are on
the
inside.
lmplant
a
St rong Democratic
Tradition
It
is a well-known fact, furthermore,
that Britain has had a very long history
rich in parliamentary democracy. Britain
is certainly the most experienced nation
on earth in this field.
There is a secret fear among even
sorne of the strongest proponents of
European unity that, with Britain ex–
duded, democracy would not continue
to be a powerful enough force among
the Six. Even Professor Walter Hall–
stein, president of the EEC Commission
for its first ten years, told a BBC tele–
vision audience of the oeed for the Brit–
ish "to fill the gap of democracy under
which we are still suffering."
On economic issues, the British
would also like to see sorne changes
made in EEC attitudes and policies. The
British are very conceroed about the
Common Market's basic trade policies
toward other nations - specifically the
developing countries of the "third
world." Britain preseotly absorbs
twenty percent of its· imports from
developing countries, roughly three
times the figure for the EEC.
Under the EEC's Common Agricul–
tura! Policy, barriers protect and insu–
late high-cost European farmers from
lower prices prevailing in the world
market. Agricultura! commodities rep–
resent perhaps the greatest potential for
the developing countries. Subsidies and
other supports to Europe's own farm–
ers represent, therefore, very stiff
competition.
The British hope that, even though
October 1971
bouod by the strict confines of the
Treaty of Rome, they can nevertheless
alter the Common Market's more in–
ward, protectionist orientation on such
vital international trade issues.
Lastly, there is the question of Brit–
ain's very role in a changing world. The
Empire has vanished and the Com–
monwea1th is slipping away fast. The
British dilemma was summarized by
Patrick O'Donovan in the London
Observer:
"For the first time
in
centuries we do not know quite who we
are. We do not know our place in the
hierarchy of the world. We do not
know if we are a rich nation or a poor
one. We are not even sure if we are
happy or not."
A former top-rankiog official of the
Common Market told this writer pri–
vately: "The Commoowealth is gone.
Heath knows this." This is a primary
reason why Her Majesty's Government
is pinning its hopes for a new dynamic,
stimulating role for the nation within a
burgeoning Europe.
The Three
Obstades
In the eyes of British Anti-Market–
eers, the three primary reasons for join–
ing the Common Market are more than
balanced off by three serious drawbacks.
The most vocal argument against mem–
bership is one of simple personal
economics.
There is no doubt whatsoever that
food prices will rise once Britain enters.
Even the Government admits that - al–
though the estimates of its new price
levels seem underestimated.
Once in, Britain would be committed
to support the high-cost Common
Market Agricultural Policy. In coming
years, food will become even more
expensive when the interim five-year
agreement which allows entry of
much of New Zealand's present food
commodities is conduded or renego–
tiated downward.
Pro-Marketeers claim the bigger mar–
ket for British industrial goods inside
Europe will more than offset the higher
cost of food.
It may. But then it may not. This is a
risk the Goverrunent is taking. Accord–
ing to British economist Paul Eínzig:
"The size of the domestic market is
undoubtedly an advantage, but it is by