FRANCE

Pompidou keeps the options open

MARC ULLMANN

Paris--On Thursday last the French Foreign Minister, M Maurice Schuman, went to The Hague. The purpose of his journey was to clear the ground with his Dutch colleague Mr Josef Luns for the Common Market summit conference next Monday and Tuesday. Then came the mess- age from Rome: Signor Aldo Moro, the Italian Foreign Minister, was ill. In no time at all the other three participants had been consulted and new dates fixed for the sum- mit at the beginning of December.

The Italian request for postponement was undoubtedly motivated by the state of Italian domestic politics. It would have been difficult for the Italian Prime Minister to come to The Hague without his Foreign Minister. But in truth a fortnight's post- ponement suited everybody. For it is only during the past two weeks that the six governments have really begun to take the summit conference seriously: and now it is evident that for proper preparation they v6ill need. all the time they can get.

The change of climate is highly signifi- cant. It is as though the participants have suddenly awakened to the realisation that the ground to be covered is the true mea- sure of the crisis confronting them—and by that measure it is a very major crisis indeed—and have reacted to this realisation with a new-found will to set about it. In other words hope has suddenly taken the place of discouragement.

A fortnight ago the senior civil servants in the different capitals who were busy pre- paring the files for their masters were thoroughly sceptical about the whole affair. To listen to them, the Common Market was virtually a busted flush. Four pieces of evidence were cited : the com- plete absence of monetary integration, demonstrated by the unilateral parity changes of mark and franc; the deadlock in the common agricultural policy, toppling under the weight of mountains of surplus butter, milk and wheat; the failure to work out a common commercial policy towards the communist countries; and, last but not least, the failure to extend free competi- tion to public sector tenders and the heavy equipment industries. 'The Common Mar- ket', it was said, 'stops short at shoes and sewing machines.'

Today the tone is different. For this there are two reasons. The first is that the Brussels Commission has just succeeded in averting the total breakdown of the common agricultural policy; and the second is that for the first time France's partners sense a genuine evolution in French policy.

For the common agricultural policy the moment of truth came in the aftermath of the mark revaluation. After a lot of hard bargaining it was agreed that the communal funds would pay their share of the direct subsidies to be permitted from henceforth for the German peasants. The European spirit had triumphed again, as it had in the remarkable decision of the French government, following the devalua- tion of the franc, to tax food exports and subsidise food imports.

Of course this does not mean that the common agricultural policy is now regarded as a triumph of right reason. But whereas a few weeks ago people were talking of scrapping the whole thing and starting all over again, now it is only a matter of introducing correctives to put a brake on over-production and to encourage diversi- fication: things like a special subsidy for beef in place of milking calves.

On the political front the essential ele- ment has been the French attitude towards Britain. The veto on the opening of nego- tiations disappeared with the General. But this was not good enough for the Five. They wanted to know whether the new French government was prepared to enter into negotiations with a will to succeed, or simply with an eye to the multiplication of obstacles. M Schuman has done all in his power to convince them that the first interpretation was the right one. They are not entirely convinced; but at least they are prepared to listen with interest to what President Pompidou may have to say on the subject when they meet.

It was, after all, M Pompidou who originally suggested a summit conference. He attached so much importance to it, indeed, that from last week onwards he had cancelled most of his appointments in order to get up the files. The summit is important to him for several reasons. It will be his first big international perfor- mance; moreover, France today has even greater need of the Common Market than has Germany.

At the moment of writing certain pro-

positions seem to be already tied up h The summit conference, while others al still to be formulated. It is, for instanci no secret that M Pompidou will ende your to convince his partners that the fa( that France is insisting on the settlement s the financial arrangements for the far mers before the opening of discussions ult Britain does not mean that these arranet ments will not be subject to revision onc the talks begin. The argument will be tha it is better to have a basis for negotiatiot than to start out in a vacuum; and on thi point the French President will certainl enjoy the backing of the Commission.

Then, in order to strengthen his alliano with the Commission, M Pompidou hu decided publicly to accept the need to en dow the Community 'with its own resources' He sees no great risk in taking this step It will please the federalists; and as for Gaullists, they seem to have overlook the fact that to surrender to the Common] funds the yield from industrial tariffs Soul not in practice amount to as much as t budgetary contributions which the Fret government, in common with the othe makes to the Community under the exi ing arrangements. So there is no case looking upon this as a potentially dang ous extension of supranationalism. As Pompidou himself commented the day, 'I really don't see what all the me physics are about.'

The French President has one w special reason for putting his faith in t Brussels Commission. He has good ca to expect that the Commission will emphasis on the need for monetary 'so clarity'. Now this is a matter in whi the French have something of a %est interest, and it is therefore infinitely p ferable, in the opinion of the head state, that the initiative should come I the Commission rather than from Pa This will not prevent him putting forv. 'certain specific ideas' of his own on subject at The Hague; but so far as I ascertain the precise nature of any p posals he may advance has not yet decided.

The essential point is that France is going to launch any manoeuvre designed defer the drafting of a common posit between the Six against the opening negotiations with Britain. The preparation the Community negotiating posture will fact coincide with the settlement of agricultural finance system and the la of the foundations of the extension economic union.

One idea which has been submitted the Elysee Palace is that President Po dou should call for the setting-up of seven-power working party (i.e. inc ing Britain) to study the possible by-P ing of the Community as it presently e in such fields as defence, foreign P and education. In this way, it is sugt- he would get the best of both He would convince his partners that him 'Europe' really did include the Li Kingdom; and he would do so without rendering any of his cards in the b and-butter negotiation. There is nothing to show that President has accepted this suggesn.ea don't usually sound my horn a mile fore I come to the turning.' He is k plenty of room to manoeuvre betv.ees and 1 December. But he is prepar take a turning. And there will be going back.