EEC-COMECON RELATIONS

by Altiero Spinelli

SUMMARY: The Parliament discusses relations between the Community and the Comecon countries on the basis of oral questions addressed to the Commission. In "Speeches in European Parliament, 1976-1986", Pier Virgilio Dastoli Editor. (EP, 11 April 1978)

Mr President, I think we would be making a grave mistake if we considered the economies of the Soviet Union and the other countries of Eastern Europe as an aggressive group attempting to distruct our economics, agravate the crisis and take over our affairs. We would be barking up the wrong tree!

The fact is that today the economies of the Soviet Union and of the countries of Eastern Europe, like our own, are experiencing enormous difficulties, difficulties which take different forms because their economic system is different, which do not for example appear in the form of unemployment, but in the form of low productivity, in the form of hidden inflation. These are economies which are, like ours, attempting to overcome a very difficult situation and which have two possible alternatives: to return to the previous situation of isolationism, with very few economic relations with the rest of the world, or to develop substantially their relations with the rest of the world: to increase purchases and sales and their interdependence with the rest of the world. It is very probable that if they adopt this second path, mutual understanding between our countries and theirs will be increased, and there is no doubt that this understanding will diminish if they turn to isolationism. Everything does not hang on our

trade relations. However, our approach in trade relations will be an extremely important factor in determining which way our other affairs will develop. It is in our interests, and in the interests of the countries around us, which are those which have the greatest desire for closer economic relations within our countries, to encourage a more open view of the economy in the Comecon countries.

The honourable Member who spoke before me is certainly right in insisting that in granting credits we must ensure that certain conditions are observed.

However, we must not over-dramatize this problem: we must bear in mind that there is wide scope for cooperation still to be exploited; the type of trade between us demonstrates that these countries are still, in large measure, suppliers of raw materials and that, with one or two exceptions - East Germany and Czechoslovakia - they are in many respects countries which are not fully developed in comparison with ours and the scope for economic cooperation is therefore great.

However, it is obvious that we must make it clear to all of these countries, and in particular to the Soviet Union, that the Community is a reality with which they must come to terms: it is pointless continuing to pretend to ignore it, it is pointless continuing to have no representatives here, when China, Yugoslavia and other communist countries have already established representatives The Commission and the Council must use all their diplomatic prowess to convince them that the Community is a political body, that it wishes to intensify trade and economic relations with the countries of Eastern Europe - because this is in their interests as well as ours - and that it wishes to do so, while ensuring respect for the fundamental characteristics and policies of the Community itself.

Of course, our policy must have standard rules: rules on credit, on economic cooperation, etc., we must make it clear from the outset that this economic cooperation is a matter for the Community and not individual States - we cannot blame others for something we have failed to do - however, generally speaking, I should say that the question of our relations with these countries should be approached with a certain degree of confidence, and not with the attitude of the lamb going to slaughter. There will be no slaughter, nor frankly - are we lambs.