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Elections (Publicity)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister what is the total amount of money being spent by Her Majesty's Government Departments on publicising the individual's right to vote in the forthcoming (a) county council and (b) European elections.
The Prime Minister : Every person registered to vote at these elections will receive a poll card specifying the election, and when and where polling will take place : the cost to the Treasury at the forthcoming European parliamentary elections is expected to be in excess of £3 million ; a corresponding figure for the county council elections is not readily available. The cost of delivering candidates' election addresses at the European parliamentary elections, expected to be in excess of £4 million, will also be met by the Treasury. An annual campaign undertaken by the Home Office at a cost of around £0.5 million publicises the need to be included in the electoral register in order to secure the right to vote at all elections in the forthcoming year.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 18 April.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 18 April.
Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 18 April.
Mr. Baldry : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 18 April.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 18 April.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 18 April.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 18 April.
Mr. Wakeham : I have been asked to reply.
This morning my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister addressed the conference on security and co-operation in Europe forum at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre. This afternoon my right hon. Friend will attend the 150th anniversary of independence celebrations in Luxembourg.
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EC (Monetary Union)
Sir Peter Hordern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will place in the Library a copy of the Delors committee's report on economic and monetary union in the European Community.
The Prime Minister : I have done so today.
Football Violence
Mr. Denis Howell : To ask the Prime Minister what steps have been taken to enforce the convention on spectator violence at sports events signed on 19 August 1985 by Ministers of 10 nations, including the United Kingdom ; what specific results have been achieved in the implementation of each of the 17 articles of this convention, and if she has any plans to assure the European Union of Football Associations that the convention will be fully implemented so that English football clubs can be re-admitted to European football competitions.
The Prime Minister : Fifteen countries have signed and ratified the European convention which was initiated and drafted by the United Kingdom following the Heysel stadium tragedy in 1985. The United Kingdom was the first signatory to the convention and chairs the standing committee which monitors its operation. Considerable progress has been made by the Government, the police and the football authorities to give effect to the measures contained in the convention. The Football Spectators Bill will provide further measures to counter hooliganism at football matches in this country and abroad. We will continue to keep UEFA informed of progress on these matters.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what percentage of officers in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, respectively, and overall in his Department are (a) women and (b) members of ethnic minorities.
Mr. Eggar : The most recent information available as regards women officers in the aid wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and in the equivalent diplomatic service grades is as follows :
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Grade Number Percentage
HCS |DS |Aid Wing (at 1 April |Diplomatic Wing (at 31|Aid Wing (at 1 April |Diplomatic Wing (at 31
|1989) |December 1988) |1989) |December 1988)
|Per cent. |Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-3 |Senior grade |0 |4 |0 |2.6
4 |No DS equivalent |0 |- |0 |-
5 |DS4 |4 |10 |10 |3.5
6 |No DS equivalent |3 |- |4.6 |-
7 |DS5 |19 |35 |11 |9.8
All grades |DS<1> mainstream |663 |759 |43.8 |24.3
<1> Information concerning all Home Civil Service equivalent grades in the FCO at 31 December 1988 is not yet available.
There are no members of ethnic minority groups at DS5 and above in the diplomatic wing. The total number of
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staff in the diplomatic wing who have identified themselves as coming from ethnic minorities is 97, representing 1.8 per cent. of respondents.Column 99
In the aid wing, 1.7 per cent. of staff above grade 7 are from ethnic minorities. The total number of aid wing staff who have identified themselves as coming from ethnic minorities is 89, representing 5.9 per cent. of respondents.Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origin of its employees ; when it next plans to do so ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : New recruits are asked to complete a form concerning their ethnic origins when they join the diplomatic or aid wings of the FCO.
An initial survey of the ethnic origins of existing staff was carried out in April 1986 with follow-up exercises in September 1986, and January- February 1988. There are no plans for a further survey of this kind.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at his Department.
Mr. Eggar : There is no direct recruitment into the top grades of the FCO--above DS8-7D, equivalent to AT/HEO/D in the home Civil Service.
Appointments in the aid wing are by internal promotion or by open competition, and an equal opportunities policy is applied. The FCO is an equal opportunity employer. This policy is made clear in recruitment literature and advertising, including, on occasions, in the ethnic press.
Rain Forest
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his discussions with Seno r Londono, Foreign Minister of Colombia, during his visit to London on rain forest problems.
Mr. Eggar : During his visit to London from 10 to 13 April, I raised with Seno r Londono the strong concern felt in this country about the problems of the tropical rain forests. I stressed that we were willing to co-operate with South American Governments on this issue.
Namibia
Mr. Robert Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications for the United Nations peace plan of recent outbreaks of violence in Namibia.
Mrs. Chalker : Recent events in Namibia have demonstrated that implementation of the United Nations plan for Namibian independence can be a success only if all parties abide by their undertakings in that plan. We have been active diplomatically in helping to put the United Nations plan back on track.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there are any immediate plans to deploy the 7,500 United Nations troops in Namibia as specified under United Nations Security Council resolution 435.
Mrs. Chalker : This is a matter for the United Nations Secretary General. We have made it clear that, as a
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permanent member of the Security Council, we would consider promptly and sympathetically any request by the United Nations Secretary General for reinforcing the United Nations transition assistance group. He has made no such request.Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many United Nations troops were in Namibia on 1 April ; how many were proposed to be there under the original United Nations plan ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : The strength of UNTAG's military component on 1 April was over 750. The full strength of UNTAG's military component is 4,650 as recommended in the United Nations Secretary General's report of 23 January. This is a reduction from the original level of 7,500 set out in 1978. The rate of deployment of UNTAG was for the United Nations to decide, once authorisation had been given by the General Assembly. We regret that delays, not of our making, in the Security Council and the General Assembly gave the secretary general inadequate lead-in time.
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East, Official Report, 10 April, column 359, when he expects a decision on how the 10 million ecus earmarked by the European Community for the Namibia development trust are to be spent ; and if he will make a further statement.
Mrs. Chalker : No decision has yet been taken on how the sum to which my hon. Friend refers is to be spent. It has not however been earmarked for the Namibia development trust. The Namibia development trust is simply one organisation which will be eligible to receive funds if it submits suitable projects. The European Commission is well aware of the need for assistance to Namibia to be strictly impartial during the transition to independence.
South Africa
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent action within the Council of Ministers Her Majesty's Government took in relation to a proposed joint EEC statement on the South African Disclosure of Foreign Funding Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : We have drawn attention within meetings of the Council of Ministers to the need for careful consideration of the Bill's implications for positive measures programmes in South Africa. A demarche on behalf of the Twelve was subsequently made by the Spanish ambassador in Cape Town. As my hon. Friend the Minister of State said on 16 March, we have also made bilateral representations to the South African Government.
Diplomats
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many serious offences were allegedly committed in 1988 by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity ; and how many foreign diplomats were withdrawn from their posts in Britain in that year as a result of alleged offences.
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Mr. Eggar : Forty-four alleged serious offences by persons entitled to immunity were drawn to the attention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1988. "Serious offences" are defined in accordance with the report to the Foreign Affairs Committee "The abuse of diplomatic immunities and privileges (1985)" as offences falling into a category which could in certain circumstances attract a penalty of six months or more ; we are advised that very few of the alleged offences would have been likely to attract a custodial sentence. The majority involved drinking and driving and shoplifting.
Fourteen diplomats were withdrawn from their posts in Britain in 1988 following alleged offences.
Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the number of unpaid parking fines incurred by each diplomatic mission in London during 1988.
Mr. Eggar : The information is given in the table. The table also includes those international organisations which have incurred unpaid fines. The figures may be reduced by late payment.
The total for 1988 (10,079) indicates a 30 per cent. reduction over the total 1987 figure (14,437) and is only 9 per cent. of the 1984 figure (108,845) the last to be published before the introduction in May 1985 of the Government's policy on parking by members of diplomatic missions in May 1985.
We welcome the further reduction in unpaid parking fines that has been achieved during 1988 and appreciate the co-operation of diplomatic missions since the introduction of the parking policy. We shall continue to monitor carefully the level of unpaid fines, and bring pressure to bear on diplomatic missions to reduce this still further.
|c|Unpaid parking fines|c|
|1988 |1987
---------------------------------------------------
Egypt |668 |799
Soviet Union |656 |622
Saudi Arabia |357 |382
Poland |340 |329
Cameroon |311 |159
Spain |310 |435
Cote d'Ivoire |300 |138
Sudan |286 |236
Brunei |281 |127
Iraq |274 |424
Greece |259 |258
Malaysia |237 |329
Pakistan |228 |394
Qatar |228 |413
Turkey |201 |254
Israel |195 |216
Thailand |188 |246
Morocco |182 |263
Korea |175 |149
China |167 |551
Tunisia |158 |166
Sierra Leone |157 |189
Zaire |141 |150
Germany (Federal Republic) |123 |130
United Arab Emirates |122 |358
France |112 |513
Japan |110 |153
Portugal |109 |170
Ghana |105 |205
Venezuela |105 |116
Brazil |120 |149
Germany (Democratic Republic) |91 |185
Algeria |88 |172
Bulgaria |88 |80
Yugoslavia |88 |104
Jordan |87 |165
Ethiopia |80 |82
India |79 |207
Bangladesh |77 |71
Peru |75 |155
Cyprus |72 |96
Norway |72 |60
Kuwait |70 |186
Italy |69 |302
Canada |66 |130
Liberia |61 |70
Finland |59 |82
Senegal |58 |43
Tanzania |58 |48
Romania |54 |59
Barbados |50 |172
Sweden |50 |58
Ecuador |49 |24
Belgium |45 |57
Zambia |45 |60
Hungary |44 |53
Nigeria |44 |251
PDR Yemen |44 |53
Fiji |43 |40
Ireland |43 |74
Cuba |41 |26
Jamaica |41 |68
Kenya |40 |138
Indonesia |38 |65
Uruguay |38 |55
Burma |37 |88
Angola |36 |0
Somalia |36 |41
Czechoslovakia |35 |38
Lebanon |35 |41
Zimbabwe |34 |223
Iran |33 |183
Mauritius |32 |25
Uganda |32 |41
Gabon |31 |78
Paraguay |31 |33
Nicaragua |29 |10
Yemen Arab Republic |29 |44
Gambia |28 |27
Guyana |27 |42
Oman |26 |295
Philippines |26 |45
Malawi |22 |6
United States of America |22 |77
Honduras |16 |16
Iceland |16 |51
Trinidad |16 |31
Dominica |14 |2
Panama |12 |22
Lesotho |11 |19
Togo |11 |18
Colombia |10 |23
Mexico |10 |35
Afghanistan |9 |8
Seychelles |9 |10
Guatemala |8 |0
Netherlands |8 |6
Antigua and Barbuda |6 |13
Austria |6 |12
Chile |6 |76
Vietnam |6 |4
Bolivia |5 |5
Botswana |5 |29
Eastern Caribbean |5 |8
Nepal |5 |10
Sri Lanka |5 |8
Mongolia |4 |1
Luxembourg |3 |2
Switzerland |3 |0
Bahamas |2 |7
Denmark |2 |5
El Salvador |2 |0
Singapore |2 |2
Papua New Guinea |1 |3
Australia |0 |0
Bahrain |0 |6
Belize |0 |0
Costa Rica |0 |20
Grenada |0 |0
Holy See |0 |0
Malta |0 |0
Mozambique |0 |0
New Zealand |0 |0
South Africa |0 |19
Swaziland |0 |5
Tonga |0 |0
International Organisations
Commonwealth Secretariat |21 |75
Cocoa |13 |7
WEU |10 |15
IMO |1 |13
EEC |1 |0
UN |0 |0
Coffee |0 |0
Immarsat |0 |0
Sugar |0 |0
|--- |---
Totals |10,079|14,437
TRANSPORT
St. Pancras-Sheffield Line
Mr. Flannery : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to discuss with the British Railways Board the further electrification of the St. Pancras-Sheffield midland line.
Mr. Portillo : I have no plans to do so. It is for BR to propose such a scheme if it believes it to be worthwhile.
Ryrie Rules
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had concerning the Ryrie rules for (a) road projects and (b) rail projects.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : My right hon. Friend and I have meetings from time to time with potential private sector operators about the interpretation of these rules.
Lindane Container (English Channel)
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the individual amounts of expenditure laid out by his Department in the attempt to recover the lost container of lindane in the Channel.
Mr. Portillo : The container of lindane was on board MV Perintis which sank in international waters in the English Channel on 13 March.
As the result of an Anglo-French air-sea search the floating container of lindane was located in a French area of responsibility on 15 March and taken under tow towards Cherbourg by the French authorities. While in transit the container was lost again. The French have subsequently carried out a very extensive but unsuccessful search but have not sought--or required--British assistance.
The exact location of the container is still unknown but is thought to be about 15 km north-west of Cap de la
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Hague, in a sector of the Channel for which the French authorities are fully responsible for taking counter-pollution action. Accordingly the Department has not been involved in the search. Only £302.24 has been expended by the Department in the search for the lindane, on an aerial surveillance flight by an MPCU aircraft on 15 March as part of the initial, successful, search for the floating container.M1-M25 Junction
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the average lengths of peak hour tailback on the M1 at its junction with the M25.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We do not systematically record information about the lengths of tailbacks.
M1 (Traffic Flow)
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 11 April to the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth, if he will identify the types of vehicles and numbers in the quoted traffic flow of 5,200 between junctions 9 and 10 on the M1.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Typical peak flows by vehicle types are :
T
|A.M. peak southbound|A.M. peak northbound
|Per cent. |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motorcycles |0.5 |0.8
Cars/taxis |71.0 |77.4
LGV |8.0 |9.3
HGV |20.0 |11.5
Bus/coach |0.5 |1.0
|------- |-------
Total |100.0 |100.0
M1 (Accidents)
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles were involved in accidents between junctions 9 and 10 on the M1 for each month since January 1985.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The number of vehicles involved in injury accidents between junctions 9 and 10 on the M1, by month, from 1985 to 1987, are shown in the table. Detailed figures for 1988 are not yet available.
|c|Number of vehicles involved in accidents|c|
1985 |Number of vehicles
---------------------------------------------------------
January |0
February |4
March |1
April |5
May |1
June |0
July |1
August |6
September |0
October |8
November |6
December |12
|-------
Total |44
|c|Number of vehicles involved in accidents|c|
1987 |Number of vehicles
---------------------------------------------------------
January |0
February |2
March |0
April |14
May |0
June |9
July |7
August |4
September |12
October |24
November |5
December |5
Total |82
|c|Number of vehicles involved in accidents|c|
1987 |Number of vehicles
---------------------------------------------------------
January |0
February |2
March |0
April |14
May |0
June |9
July |7
August |4
September |12
October |24
November |5
December |5
Total |82
Container Terminal (Hull)
137. Mr. John Townend : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the present situation with regard to the closed container terminal in Hull.
Mr. Portillo : I understand that this terminal in the port of Hull ran at a loss for many years. After trying without success to secure the registered dock workers' agreement to reduced manning levels in order to make the terminal competitive, Associated British Ports announced its temporary closure last August. This January ABP announced that the closure would be permanent. The future of the terminal site is a commercial decision for ABP.
Roads
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he intends to publish proposals on the future road network in the north-east region ;
(2) when he expects to announce changes in the roads programme ; (3) when he expects to publish a White Paper on the future of the road system.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We are currently reviewing the trunk road programme, including routes in the north-east region. We expect to announce the results in the early summer.
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Traffic Area Organisation
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he proposes to carry out a review of the traffic area organisation.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We have commissioned a review of the functions of the traffic commissioners and of the traffic area offices to identify any changes which would improve efficiency or standards of performance. The review will be carried out by Mr. J. Palmer, CB, who was a deputy secretary in the Department until his retirement. Any views or representations can be sent to Mr. Palmer at the Department's headquarters at 2 Marsham street.
Motorcycling Safety"
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions he has reached in the light of comments received on his paper "Motorcycling Safety", issued in February 1988.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The proposals for change were warmly received. There was a general recognition that the urgent need was to make motorcycling safer. The proposal that prospective moped riders and motorcyclists should be trained before being allowed to ride on their own received particularly widespread support.
The aspects of the proposals which led to most comment, were those dealing with progression to more powerful machines (over 400cc), and the duration of provisional motorcycle licences, which we propose reducing to one year. On the former, many commentators advocated a power limit either as well as, or instead of, the 400cc limit. On the latter, there was widespread concern that one year was not long enough, although the need for a firm incentive for provisional licence holders to take training within a year at most was widely recognised. Comments were also received on the proposed changes to the car licence holders, moped and motorcycle entitlements, and on the proposed prohibition on learners carrying passengers on the road.
In the light of these comments we have reached the following conclusions :
1. Car drivers' full moped entitlement will in future be provisional. This will make the position regarding moped the same as that for motorcycles. Car drivers' provisional motorcycling entitlement will be retained.
2. Car drivers will have to undergo the same training as other prospective motorcycle and moped riders before their provisional licence entitlement comes into effect.
3. The compulsory training, to be known as "basic training", will not necessarily have to be completed on one day. In the light of representations, there will be waivers of the basic training requirement for certain offshore islands, but these will be subject to tight conditions. We are to start mandatory training in mid-1990. In the meantime, training schemes will be phased in on a voluntary basis wherever possible. Detailed discussions are now well advanced with training bodies, local authorities, motorcycle manufacturers and dealers about the content of the training courses and the arrangement for ensuring that motorcyclists can take the training with the minimum practical difficulties.
The proposal to reduce the validity of provisional licences from two years to one will be modified. A licence will be valid for one year in the first instance and will be extended for a further year if the holder has taken but failed a test before the end of the year or has booked a test which, for good reason, could not be taken. 4. The proposal to create a licence category for motorcycles in excess of 400 cc will be amended to incorporate a power limit. We favour a system under which drivers will be
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able to progress to larger machines after two years' riding experience on a full licence. The technical definition of the power limit, and the scope of the two years' experience qualification, will be considered further in the light of consultations on the European Commission's proposal for a second directive on driver licensing which covers both points. We are still considering whether an additional test could be provided for those exceptional cases where a rider might have gained sufficient experience to ride a bigger machine in less than two years.5. As proposed in the original package, learner riders will be banned from carrying passengers. Concern expressed in the consultation exercise about the degree to which carrying pillion passengers changes the handling characteristics of motorcycles (particularly smaller ones) far outweighed comments favouring continuation of the present arrangements.
BREL (Sale)
Mr. McLoughlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the sale of British Rail Engineering Ltd. is to be completed.
Mr. Portillo : I am pleased to announce that the railways board has today completed the sale of its engineering subsidiary BREL (1988) Ltd. to the consortium comprising the management and employees of BREL, Trafalgar house plc and Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.
Traffic Noise
Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the noise levels on the db(A) scale at which compensation or soundproofing grants may be payable for the United Kingdom and the other members of the European Economic Community in respect of new roads or railway lines.
Mr. Peter Bottomley [holding answer 13 April 1989] : For England and Wales road traffic noise is covered by the Noise Insulation Regulations 1975. Broadly comparable regulations apply to Scotland. There are no such regulations applying to Northern Ireland. We do not have (for either road or rail) detailed information of arrangements in the other EC countries.
The 1975 regulations apply a threshold level of 68db(A)L10 18 hour. Where it is estimated that noise levels from traffic will within 15 years be at or in excess of this level at dwellings within 300 m of the new road, a duty is imposed on highway authorities to offer secondary glazing provided that :
(a) the traffic noise level will be at least 1 db(A) more than the level before the road was built ; and
(b) noise from traffic using the new road will contribute at least 1 db(A) to the calculated level.
There is no statutory noise standard for new railways. For further information on rail noise insulation, I refer to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 10 April at column 409.
Ferries
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by name, for each of the seven passenger ferries which do not comply with the enhanced safety standards recommended after the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise, the reason why modification is not a realistic proposition (a) because it is technically impossible to make the modification, (b) because financial
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consideration prevents work being carried out, or (c) due to any other specified reason ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Portillo : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price) on 4 April 1989, at column 20 , which named the ferries that the owners have indicated will not be retained for more than about another three years. Modification would be so extensive that they do not believe it to be economically realistic.
WALES
Beef
Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the present state of the beef sector of the agricultural industry in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : The beef sector in Wales is in a healthy condition. The June 1988 agricultural census results show that the total beef herd in Wales increased by 2 per cent. over the previous year while the number of heifers in calf intended mainly for rearing calves for beef rose by 24 per cent., reflecting producers' optimism for the beef market.
Water Charges (Fire Service)
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy that the fire service will be exempt from charges for water when Welsh Water is privatised.
Mr. Grist : Clause 79(1) of the Water Bill currently before Parliament specifically precludes the privatised companies from making charges in respect of water taken for the purposes of extinguishing fires, testing apparatus installed or equipment used for extinguishing fires.
DEFENCE
Disarmament
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the achievements made by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in multilateral disarmament of (a) conventional weapons, (b) chemical and biological weapons and (c) nuclear weapons since 1959.
Mr. Waldegrave : I have been asked to reply.
With regard to conventional weapons, all NATO states are signatories of the agreement reached in Stockholm in September 1986 on a range of confidence- building measures designed to increase openness and predictability about military activities in Europe NATO states are currently participating in a further round of such talks in Vienna designed to build on the results achieved in Stockholm. Also in Vienna, NATO/Warsaw pact negotiations have just begun on conventional armed forces in Europe with the aim of establishing a stable balance of forces in Europe : the mandate for these negotiations is based largely on Alliance proposals. These new talks supersede the MBFR negotiations, in which a number of Alliance countries participated : these concluded on 2 February.
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