Memorandum for Government by the Department of the Taoiseach
'European Free Trade Area'

The Working Party established by the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) to consider the possible forms and methods of association between the proposed Customs and Economic Union (of France, Western Germany, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg) and the other OEEC countries has submitted its Report. The Council of the OEEC, consisting of the Ministerial representatives of all member countries, including Ireland, will consider at a meeting to be held on the 12th and 13th February, 1957, whether, in the light of the Working Party’s Report and its conclusion that a Free Trade Area is technically feasible, an attempt should be made to establish a Free Trade Area composed of the proposed Customs and Economic Union and the other OEEC member countries. If, as anticipated, it is decided to proceed, instructions will probably be given for the preparation of a draft treaty, or other instrument, setting out the conditions to be fulfilled by the countries which form the Area. The Council may also decide on a number of important matters of principle relating to the Area, e.g.:

1. whether agriculture is to be included, or not, in the Area,
2. whether special treatment should be accorded to countries which are in course of economic development
   and
3. whether measures should be taken to harmonize regulations relating to conditions of employment in the Area and to solve the problem of granting assistance to countries or industries which are adversely affected by the establishment of the Area.

2. At a meeting held on the 9th October, 1956,¹ the Government decided that, acting under the direction of the Taoiseach, the Secretaries of the Departments of External Affairs, Industry and Commerce, Agriculture, Finance and the Taoiseach should examine the probable effects on Ireland’s interests of an association between the proposed Customs and Economic Union and the other member countries of OEEC. The Committee of Secretaries has, so far, held five meetings to discuss the matter. It has referred to the Foreign Trade Committee (acting as an ad-hoc Sub-Committee of the Committee of Secretaries), for detailed analysis and evaluation, a statement of the probable effects on Ireland’s economy if
   1. Ireland joined the Area and
   2. she did not.

   The Foreign Trade Committee (which has the same departmental composition as the Committee of Secretaries) hopes to conclude very shortly its analysis and evaluation of this statement.

3. Before a decision is taken on the question of whether Ireland should join the Free Trade Area and, if so, on what conditions, it is desirable that interested bodies (the Federation of Irish Manufacturers, Trade Unions, farmers’ organizations, etc.) and the public generally should be given an opportunity of putting forward any views or suggestions which they might wish to offer. At its meeting on the 2nd January, 1957,² the Committee of Secretaries instructed the Foreign Trade Committee to prepare (having regard to the statement referred to in paragraph 2) a memorandum on the proposed Free Trade Area suitable for circulation to interested bodies and the Press. A copy of the memorandum prepared by the Foreign Trade Committee, as amended and agreed by the Committee of Secretaries, is attached.³

4. The Taoiseach recommends that the Government should
   1. approve the terms of the attached memorandum and
   2. authorize its issue to interested bodies and the Press, the issuing Minister in the case of
      1. farmers’ organizations, to be the Minister for Agriculture,
      2. Trade Unions and organizations connected with industry, commerce and foreign trade, to be the Minister for Industry and Commerce
         and
      3. other interested bodies, to be the appropriate Minister concerned.

   It is essential that the memorandum should be issued without delay so as to enable the views and suggestions of the public to be obtained as much in advance as possible of the OEEC Council’s meeting to be held on the 12th and 13th February, 1957.⁴