Mr Major’s Arrival Doorstep Interview in Naples – 8 July 1994

July 8, 1994 admin 1994, G7, Naples G7 Summit

Below is Mr Major’s arrival doorstep in Naples on Friday 8th July 1994.

QUESTION:

Prime Minister, what can this summit do for the 24 million jobless there are in the G7 countries?

PRIME MINISTER:

I think one of the themes of the summit is clearly going to be jobs and employment and I would be very surprised if the summit does not reach the same sort of conclusion that we reached at Corfu and elsewhere and that is that supply side reforms and making the cost of employment less expensive is the right way to proceed.

QUESTION:

Are you worried about the falling dollar and will the G7 leaders here be able to neglect that problem?

PRIME MINISTER:

I am not sure that is going to be discussed here on this occasion.

QUESTION:

What will you be saying to President Clinton about his views on European unity and German leadership?

PRIME MINISTER:

I think what was reported about President Clinton’s views were quite different to what President Clinton said, so I am not sure that he and I will be discussing it.

QUESTION:

The President said this morning that the Japanese have not delivered on their promises at last year’s G7 to liberalise trade, would you agree with that?

PRIME MINISTER:

I certainly wish to discuss the liberalisation of trade, I think that will be one of the issues that we will discuss, I think there are a variety of areas both in terms of investment and in terms of trade flows, I shall certainly want to discuss liberalisation and of course Japan has more to do.

QUESTION:

Do you expect to make progress here in the margins on the successor to M. Delors?

PRIME MINISTER:

I am not expecting to have substantive discussions about that here, no, whether it is discussed is a matter for the Presidency of the Commission, they may well approach me, but this is a decision for all Twelve, it is not something that can be agreed with just two or three members of the Community here.

QUESTION:

Is Lord Archer definitely out in a Cabinet reshuffle?

PRIME MINISTER:

I will announce the Cabinet reshuffle when I am ready to do so.

QUESTION:

Will you be pressing here again for reform of the G7 as an institution, do you think it is time for it to be widened to accept more Asian economies?

PRIME MINISTER:

I will certainly be pressing for more reform of the summit itself, I think we have made some progress in terms of making it more informal but frankly I do not think we have gone as far as we can and I would certainly like to see it made yet more informal in the future.

QUESTION:

Would you be prepared to put up British money to help rid the world of the Chernobyl nuclear reactors?

PRIME MINISTER:

We have indicated in the past that we are prepared to put up a certain amount of money to do that, yes, I think it is in everyone’s interest that we deal with the problem of Chernobyl. But I do not think it is just that, we also need action to be taken by the Ukrainians as well, but that will be an important item on our agenda.

QUESTION:

Can you tell us how much?

PRIME MINISTER:

Not out here, no.

QUESTION:

Is there any progress on debt relief for the Third World?

PRIME MINISTER:

I hope so, yes, I think we will get some progress on debt relief for the Third World. We pushed a long time ago firstly for Toronto Terms and then for Trinidad Terms. A lot of progress has been made, I think we can make some more. I hope when we have made progress on Trinidad Terms we may look to see whether we can go even further.

QUESTION:

Do you have anything at all to say about Lord Archer as one of the most devoted and hard working members of your party?

PRIME MINISTER:

There is an investigation going on, it is right that there should be an investigation going on but you would not expect me to comment on it and I am not going to.

QUESTION:

Do you feel for him as an old friend in the current predicament?

PRIME MINISTER:

One always feels for an old friend but I am not going to comment on it. There is an investigation going on, that is proper, the investigation must proceed. It would be quite wrong for me to say anything beyond that.