For John Major and his Cabinet, 1992 means the completion of the Single market. Awaiting the general elections of 9 April, Mr Major and his Ministers will be able to influence the agenda, determine the pace and set the priorities of the UK Presidency of the the EC Council, on the basis of a number of important tasks:

* the completion of the Single Market;

* preparing the Community for enlargement;

* developing Community links with Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union;

* dealing with the outcome of GATT talks;

* reform of the CAP;

* advancing review of the Community's finances.

The completion of the negative integration

The Single Market will be completed giving a greater emphasis on several key themes:

* first, deregulation: the rigourous scrutiny of all directives to ensure they do not impose unnecessary burdens;

* second, the implementation and enforcement nationally of Community directives;

* third, the phasing out of beggar-my-neighbour credit and trade support policies;

* fourth, the maintenance of competitive rather than interventionist policies.

The UK Presidency will concentrate on those measures which will genuinely make the european Community "open for business": a. the Life Insurance Framework Directive; b. the aviation liberalisation package; c. Energy liberalisation; d. Intellectual Property: the community trade-mark and prograss on copyright; e. Public Procurement.

The industrial policy text of Maastricht Treaty puts the emphasis on the creation of a favourable environment for business rather than direct intervention, and any Commission proposals have to be agreed unanimously by the Council.

The pressures for better environmental protection can be reconciled with the need to maintain a competitive industry. This means ensuring that environmental policies take account of industrial realities, cost benefits analysis is done to balance the costs to industry and the consumer against the environmental benefits.

The telecommunications and posts sector throughout the Community will be based on similar open market principles.

The UK Presidency will focus on these key-points: financial procedures, coupled with effective monitoring and evaluation of past stuctural projects; the current excessive bureaucracy in administering the Funds and, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the freedom of Member States to take their own decisions affecting their stuctural policies.

The need to scale down artificial export credit assistance will be a priority of the UK Presidency, with the problem of disparity in levels of premium charged by export credit agencies.

Thinning of the Community

An important task for the UK Presidency will be to make early progress on the enlargement of the Community. The UK supports membership for all Eueopean Countries that want to join. The timing will depend on how quickly they can become full market economies and assume their membership obbligations.

The Association Agreements that the Community has concluded recently with Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia are important step forward. It is important that the EEC conclude similar association agreements with other central and eastern Europe Countries such as Bulgaria and Romania.

Russia and all the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union have to become full memnbers of both the World Bank anfd the IMF at the earliest possible opportunity. The EEC can Assist the development of the newly emerging democracies better by opening up trade than by providing aid.

The Agenda of the UK Presidency

July

13 ECO-FIN and Agriculture Council

15 Programme before the EP

16 Transport Council

17 Political Cooperation

20 General Affairs Council

September

4 ECO-FIN Council

7 Culture Council

12 General Affairs Council

21 Agriculture and Single Market Council

28 ECO-FIN Council

October

5 General Affairs Council

12 Research and Social Affairs Council

19 Fishery and ECO-FIN Council

20 Environment Council

26 Agriculture and Trasport Council

November

3 Consumer Council

6 Trade Council

9 General Affairs Council

11 Culture Council

13 Health Council

16 Agriculture Council

17 Budget Council

18 Development Council

19 Telecommunications Council

23 Fishery and ECO-FIN Council

24 Industry Council

26 Education Council

30 Energy Council

December

1 Social Affairs Council

7 General Affairs council

8 Transport Council

9 Research Council

11 European Council (Edinburgh)

14 ECO-FIN and Agriculture Council

15 Environment Council

16 Speech of the Prime Minister to the EP

17 Single Market Council

21 General Affairs Council