Reply to the Eleventh Annual Report of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation

Recommendation 238 (1960)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 26th April 1960 (2nd and 3rd Sittings) (see Docs. 1128Docs. 1128, Eleventh Report of OEEC and Doc. 1134, Report of the Economic Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 26th April 1960 (3rd Sitting), after amendment .

1. The Assembly :

2. Thanks the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) for the transmission of its Eleventh Annual Report and expresses its satisfaction at the close cooperation now achieved between the OEEC and the Council of Europe ;

3. Wishes to put on record, at a time when plans for a re-organisation of the OEEC are being studied, that the submission by the OEEC of its reports has been of great assistance to the Assembly ; and requests that such reports should continue to be transmitted to it in future by the OEEC in its new form ;

4. Notes with satisfaction that in all the member countries in 1959 :

4.1 there was a rapid growth in production ;

4.2 internal financial stability was suitably maintained ;

4.3 the balance of payments position improved considerably within a general expansion of international trade ;

5. Notes that to a considerable extent these welcome developments were the result of the economic policies pursued by member countries ; but observes that they were also due to a number of special factors which will probably not occur again in 1960 ; and points out that, although there are at present prospects of a new increase in trade, it will doubtless be more difficult to maintain stable prices than last year owing to tension on the labour market and rising investment demands, which may occur in various countries and in various branches of industry ;

6. Reaffirms its belief that the main economic aim of OEEC should be to encourage the greatest possible rate of sound economic growth that can be sustained in the long run, accompanied by full employment and rising living standards ;

7. Fears that failure to achieve agreement on the pattern of European economic co-operation may present some member countries with additional difficulties in the coming year and retard their rate of economic expansion ;

8. Expresses concern that more vigorous policies have not been pursued to deal with local unemployment problems in some member countries and that insufficient efforts have been made to deal with the problems of declining industries and to ease the transfer of their workers to other employment ; and urges that the suggestions for dealing with these problems contained in the OEEC report be given immediate consideration by the Governments concerned ;

9. Approves the opinion expressed by the OEEC that European countries should now adopt an external economic policy which will further liberalise their trade with third countries and facilitate the development of less industrialised countries by increasing the supply of capital, both public and private, to these countries and by taking measures, in consultation with all the countries concerned, to stabilise prices of raw materials and primary products ;

10. Considers that the OEEC Economic Policy Committee formed last year will have an important part to play, now that convertibility and the removal of trade barriers are making the economies of all the OEEC countries increasingly interdependent ; and therefore requests that the activities of this Committee should be continued by the new organisation and that the results of its work should, if possible, be brought to the notice of the Assembly ;

11. Considers also that this organisation, with the addition of the United States and Canada as new members, should not confine its activities to questions of common interest to all the countries of the Atlantic group but strongly recommends that its competence should include specifically European trade and economic problems ;

12. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the Council of OEEC should :

a develop a concerted programme for continued expansion and the further liberalisation of European trade ;

b mobilise its capital-exporting member countries in an imaginative effort to increase to a much larger degree than hitherto the aid to the under-developed areas of the world ; and

c report to the Assembly before its next part-Session on the action taken on this Recommendation ; and

13. Emphasises its growing interest in the work of OEEC, and particularly of the Office for Scientific and Technical Personnel in the field of scientific research, and hopes that in future it will be kept regularly informed of that work.