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Coming apart

3rd October 1975
Page 7
Page 7, 3rd October 1975 — Coming apart
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Far from being the awkward squad in the Common Market, Britain may yet turn out to be one of the few playing the game according to the rules, to judge from recent events. For a long time, the EEC Commission prodded Italy for being slow to introduce penalties for infringements of common regulations ; recently West Germany went ahead on its own and signed the AETR agreement in Geneva, lamely countering the Commission's wrath with the excuse that it was all an administrative misunderstanding; and this week CM reveals that the French Government has chucked the EEC hours regulations overboard and reverted to its old system—for which it is likely to be dragged before the European Court.

In these circumstances, Britain's official application to Brussels for deferment of the eight-hour day and tachograph rules :looks like a model of rectitude. At first sight the French situation appears to provide an atmosphere favourable to Britain's request—but may it not equally provoke the Council of Ministers into a disciplinarian stance in an attempt to hold things together ? They could bring the member nations back into step most quickly by yielding to the view—now surely a majority one—that Regulation 543/69 is too restrictive and should be put on a footing more acceptable to operators, even if less pleasing to social theoreticians.


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