extend membership-----and therefore the chance of benefiting from the mutual
assistance pro- visions laid down in the Treaty for the help of member countries in balance of payments diffi- culties—to a country which, because of the existence of large sterling balances which can be withdrawn at a moment's notice, has deprived itself of the possibility of devaluation. They would be prepared therefore to raise a funda- mental objection to British entry in so far as Britain wishes to continue to maintain sterling as an international reserve currency, which they believe to be a role beyond the economic re- sources of the country.
This is a very substantial obstacle, for
things are at present Mr Wilson does not seem ready to see Britain give up her functions as banker for the sterling area and the benefits they bring to the City of London. At the same time recent discussions of the Common Market mone- tary committee have shown that, far from being isolated, the French position is shared by Ger- many and other countries.
This is a problem which clearly cannot he resolved by the stroke of a pen, while the simple ploy of Britain of renouncing any right to bene- fit from the mutual assistance provisions would be accepted neither in France nor in the rest of
r'
Call in your secretary and get her to fix an appoint- ment with your Group Industrial Fuels Representative for Shell and B P.
The moment you have told him your heating or firing problem, the total resources of Shell and B P will be available to sort out a satisfactory answer.
Heating and firing engineers will go into a huddle ; mathematicians will be figure-bound for a while ; the whole complex of fuel technology labs will swing
Write or phone
Technical Sales Services Officer Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd Shell-Mex House Strand London WC2 01-836 1234
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