asked Her Majesty's Government:What response has been made at the Madrid Conference on European Security and Co-operation to the proposal by the European Communities that problems related to economic co-operation should be studied within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

A number of new proposals have been tabled at the Madrid Conference recommending that problems related to economic co-operation should be studied within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; for instance, one, cosponsored by members of the European Community, recommends the examination of difficulties created by the growth of compensation trading. Discussion is at an early stage, but the response of Eastern countries to Western proposals so far has been disappointing.