The Assembly,
Having, in its Recommendation 67, requested to be associated as closely as possible, on the political and administrative planes, with the work of the Ministerial Committee on Agriculture set up within the framework of O. E. E. C,
Notes with regret that no action has been taken on this Recommendation, and that the Assembly was not even informed of the recent discussions on European agricultural problems ;
Considers that this attitude, which is liable to recur, is, owing to its deliberate character, likely to prove harmful both to the idea of European co-operation and to the principle of the harmonious development and collaboration of international bodies;
Views with alarm O. E. E. C.'s evident determination to avoid all contact with parliamentary elements, and would emphasize that this attitude, owing to the atmosphere it engenders in agricultural circles, tends to restrict, if not to arrest, any efforts to achieve fuller cooperation;
Strongly protests against a policy which, in the long run, must lead to indifference among the general public and encroaches upon the essential prerogatives of the Consultative Assembly;
Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :
make the necessary arrangements for the Council of Europe to be associated with the work of the Ministerial Committee on Food and Agriculture and the Alternates' Committee of O. E. E. C,
invite the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe to reach agreement with the Secretary-General of O. E. E. C. for the purpose of enabling one of the specialised officials of the Secretariat to follow continuously the proceedings of the Directorate of Food and Agriculture of O. E. E. C. in order to ensure reciprocity of information and decisions.
The Consultative Assembly has, since its institution, upheld the principle of a European organisation of agricultural markets. Thanks to its initiative, conferences at ministerial level have been convened, and discussions on this question have been held between the various Governments.
The Council of Europe has always taken considerable interest in attempts to bring about this organisation of markets. It is therefore paradoxical that at a time when there are signs of a slight tendency towards co-operation in agricultural circles, our Assembly, for reasons difficult to admit, should be prevented from following the work in progress. This puzzling attitude, undoubtedly harmful to the European idea, is likely to cause uneasiness among the various organisations dealing with the question; it also betrays a marked desire to minimise, from the political standpoint, the economic, social and international importance of agricultural problems.
The draft Recommendation which I have the honour to submit herewith is intended as a protest against the attitude adopted by the O. E. E. C. Ministerial Committee on Agriculture and against the Council of O. E. E. C.