asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, having regard to this country's right of access to Community markets which have been severely eroded by monetary problems, he will state the steps he has taken to have the Italian import deposit scheme suspended.

The European Commission authorised the introduction by the Italian Government of an import deposit scheme under Article 108 of the Rome Treaty in May, 1976. Under this article such authorisation may be revoked, or the conditions and details of such protective measures may be changed by the council. No such revocation or alteration was sought by the council. On 29th September, 1976, the commission announced their decision that the scheme should be phased out over a seven-month period, ending in April, 1977.