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Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department is providing to registered abortion clinics and national health service hospitals which are offering early medical abortion services ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Departmental guidance about day-care arrangements for medical termination of early pregnancy has been issued to places approved under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967. In addition, the manufacturer's data sheet for the drug mifegyne--mifepristone, which is known as RU 486--and its patient information leaflet fully explain the procedure for this medical method of termination of pregnancy up to nine weeks--63 days--gestation. Both the manufacturer's data sheet and the patient information leaflet are approved by the Medicines Control Agency as part of the licensing procedure. Where abortion is to be performed, the decision whether to use a medical method is one for the doctor and woman concerned.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when her inspectors last inspected (a) the Raleigh nursing home and (b) the Marie Stopes nursing home ; how many times each have been inspected since they were approved under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967 ; and what was their date of approval under that section.
Mr. Sackville : The Raleigh and Marie Stopes nursing homes were last visited in May 1992 and November 1991 respectively. The former was first approved in March 1973 and the latter in November 1981. Since those dates at least two visits a year have been made to each place.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account her Department takes of any financial
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interest involved when private clinics conduct abortions referred by or certified in whole or in part, by doctors working for the clinic or any advice centre financially linked to the clinic.Mr. Sackville : All places approved under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967 are required by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to notify her of any financial arrangements between them and any medical practitioner, pregnancy advice bureau or referral agency, and to report any changes to existing financial arrangements. This is one of the matters examined in the course of unannounced visits by the Department's officers.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer on 29 June, Official Report, column 446, if she will now give the names of directors and names of companies owning or managing private abortion clinics together with the names of any parent subsidiary companies.
Mr. Sackville : The hon. Member can obtain the published information from Companies house.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of abortions performed at the Raleigh nursing home and the Marie Stopes nursing home were certified by doctors working at either nursing home or the Well Woman centre, Marie Stopes house.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not held by the Department.
Dentistry
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's long-term forecast of the number of dentists in the general dental service who will be under contract to the national health service in the United Kingdom in 1995 and the year 2000, respectively.
Dr. Mawhinney : A joint Health Departments and British Dental Association review of dental manpower needs is currently in progress. It will consider the number of dentists that will be needed over the next 40 years.
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the most and least favourable ratio of general dental practitioners to population in respect of particular family health service authorities in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively.
Dr. Mawhinney : The information for England is as follows : lowest dentist-to-population ratio, Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster family health service authority--1 : 1,360 ; highest ratio, Lincolnshire FHSA--1 : 4,810. The information relating to Wales and Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland.
Broadgreen NHS Trust
Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency transfers under extra-contractual arrangements have been requested between Broadgreen NHS trust accident and emergency department and neighbouring health authorities since the NHS trust was established in April 1991 ; and how many have taken place.
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Mr. Sackville : This information is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. P. Kennedy, chairman of the Broadgreen hospital NHS trust, for details.
Marriages (Immigration Purposes)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports have been made by marriage registrars and from which registration areas to the Registrar General, that marriages are suspected to be solely for immigration purposes, in each year from 1990 to the latest convenient date ; and in how many of these instances information has been passed on to the Home Office.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table. During the first six months of this year superintendent registrars reported 78 cases to the registrar general where they suspected that a proposed marriage of a person from abroad had been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.
|c|Reports received by the Registrar General during the period|c| |c|1 January 1992 to 30 June 1992|c| Registration |Number of |Reports -------------------------------------------------Bracknell |1 Brent |16 Cambridge |1 Colwyn |1 Durham Northern |1 Ealing |2 Hammersmith |2 Kensington and Chelsea |3 Lambeth |1 Leicestershire Central |1 Lewisham |21 Merton |5 Oldham |1 Oxford |2 Portsmouth |1 Sheffield |1 Southwark |5 Stockport |1 Wandsworth |1 Westminster |11 Total |78 Information in respect of 18 such cases was passed on to the Home Office.
Care Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 8 June, Official Report, column 65, if she will supply a breakdown of the projected number of persons wanting care on an annual basis after April 1993 in the following categories (a) elderly, (b) physically handicapped, (c) mentally ill and (d) learning disabled.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 29 June 1992] : It is not possible to provide the precise figures but about 15 per cent. of people in long-term residential or nursing home care who are supported by social security benefits are under 65.
Adoption
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the Government's policy on intercountry adoption.
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Mr. Yeo : The Government's approach to intercountry adoption is influenced by the provisions of the 1986 United Nations declaration on social and legal principles relating to the protection and welfare of children, with special reference to foster placement and adoption, nationally and internationally. This provides that :(a) intercountry adoption may be considered as an alternative means of providing a family for a child who cannot be cared for in any suitable manner in his own country ;
(b) in all matters relating to the placement of a child outside the care of the child's own parents, the best interests of the child should be the paramount consideration ;
(c) safeguards and standards equivalent to those which apply in national adoption are to be applied in intercountry adoption to protect the welfare of the children concerned.
The Government's policy also has regard to article 21 of the 1989 United Nations convention on the rights of the child, which was ratified by the Government on 16 December 1991. This article relates specifically to intercountry adoption, endorsing those articles contained in the 1986 United Nations declaration and requiring contracting states to :
(a) ensure that the adoption of a child is authorised only by competent authorities who determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures and on the basis of all pertinent and reliable information, that the adoption is permissible in view of the child's status concerning parents, relatives and legal guardians and that, if required, the persons concerned have given their informed consent to the adoption on the basis of such counselling as may be necessary ; (b) recognise that intercountry adoption may be considered as an alternative means of child care, if the child cannot be placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of origin ;
(c) ensure that the child concerned by intercountry adoption enjoys safeguards and standards equivalent to those existing in the case of national adoption ;
(d) take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in intercountry adoption, the placement does not result in improper financial gain for those involved ; and
(e) promote, where appropriate, the objectives of this article by concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements or agreements, and endeavour, within this framework, to ensure that the placement of the child in another country is carried out by competent authorities or organs.
SCOTLAND
Housing Capital Receipts
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the annual value of housing capital receipts accrued by local authorities, and the number of sold properties this represents, in each year since 1981.
Mr. Lang : The table gives details of local authority housing capital receipts and the number of local authority houses sold in each year since 1981-82.
|Housing |Houses sales |capital |receipts |£ million ----------------------------------------------------1981-82 |86.9 |8,966 1982-83 |132.9 |12,183 1983-84 |162.8 |14,081 1984-85 |155.3 |11,835 1985-86 |154.7 |11,274 1986-87 |141.4 |11,324 1987-88 |196.2 |18,046 1988-89 |288.9 |25,642 1989-90 |331.8 |29,529 1990-91 |296.6 |23,460 1991-92 |295.3 |19,268 Notes: 1.Housing capital receipts are derived from the sale of houses, land and other assets held on local authority housing accounts and from the repayment of loans for house purchase and improvement. 2.House sales include the sales of houses to sitting tenants and the sale of vacant or tenanted houses to third parties. 3.The figures for 1991-92 are provisional.
A75
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to bypass Springholm and Crocketford on the A75 ; and when he expects completion of the scheme.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There are no schemes in the trunk road programme to bypass Springholm and Crocketford on the A75.
Criminal Records
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the estimated net saving to his Department as a result of contracting out the back-record conversion of criminal record microfiche data ; and how many records were involved ;
(2) whether an in-house bid was invited for the task of the back-record conversion of criminal record microfiche data ; (3) whether the back record conversion of criminal record microfiche data has been completed ; and to what company the task was contracted out.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Conversion of the Scottish collection of criminal records to the computerised record system now operated as a common police service at the Scottish Criminal Record Office was not the subject of a competitive tendering exercise. The task, completed in 1985, was carried out at Dunfermline police station by Scottish police officers and civilian support staff recruited by Fife regional council. Some 420,000 Scottish criminal records including some microfiche data were converted.
Monofilament Gill Nets
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what studies he has made of the effect of the ban on the carriage and use of monofilament gill nets in Scottish waters ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro : The ban in Scottish waters was instituted in 1986 principally to protect salmon. The risk to salmon stocks remains a vital consideration, but the ban is being kept under review.
Local Enterprise Companies
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list for each local enterprise company the budget made available from his Department for 1991-92 and 1992-93 (a) at current prices and (b) at 1992-93 prices, indicating in both cases the percentage difference ;
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(2) if he will list for each local enterprise company the budget made available from his Department for the provision of employment and training places for 1991-92 and 1992-93 (a) at current prices and (b) at 1992-93 prices, indicating in both cases the percentage difference ;(3) if he will list for each local enterprise company the budget made available from his Department for the provision of youth training places for 1991-92 and 1992-93 (a) at current prices and (b at 1992-93 prices, indicating in both cases the percentage difference.
Mr. Stewart : The Scottish Office does not make budget allocations to local enterprise companies. The allocation of resources to the companies is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the chairmen of these bodies to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each local enterprise company the number of training weeks contracted for under (i) employment training and (ii) youth training (a) in 1991-92, (b) in 1992-93 and (c) the percentage difference.
Mr. Stewart : The number of training weeks contracted by each local enterprise company is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the chairman of these bodies to write to the hon. Member.
Scottish Homes
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the average grant paid on properties under the scheme operated by Scottish Homes to enable the provision of housing at market rent.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 July 1992] : The average grant approval per unit has been £14,124 representing, on average, 36 per cent. of the total project cost.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many properties have been provided through Scottish Homes under the scheme to give grants for the provision of housing at market rents since its introduction.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 July 1992] : The provision of 264 units has been approved.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total cost of the scheme operated by Scottish Homes to give grants for the provision of housing at market rents since its introduction ; and what plans he has to expand the scheme in the future.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 July 1992] : Since the scheme was introduced, Scottish Homes has approved grant of £3,728,623 for the provision of housing at market rent. This has generated £6,479,070 in private finance. Scottish Homes expects to spend £4.06 million on market rent schemes in 1992-93. Future expenditure will be for Scottish Homes to determine within the context of its annual expenditure programmes which is submitted to me for approval.
Further Education
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many students there are under 19 years of age and currently, engaged in full- time further education in Scotland ;
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(2) how many (a) single parent students, (b) disabled students, (c) students over retirement age and (d) student couples with at least one dependent child there are who are currently engaged in full-time courses of (a) further and (b) higher education in Scotland.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 1 July 1992] : Information on parental or disability status of students is not available centrally. Information on the age of full-time students in Scotland in 1990 -91 is given in the table :
|c|Full-time Students in Scotland in 1990-91 by age|c| Age<1> |Higher |Further |Education|Education --------------------------------------------------------Under 19 |18,619 |18,227 19 years to retirement<2> |78,185 |19,612 Over retirement age<2> |40 |84 Total full-time |96,844 |37,923 <1>Age is taken at 31 December 1990. <2>Retirement age is taken as 65 for men and 60 for women.
Market Testing
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total cost so far of the market testing initiative in his Department since November 1991.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 1 July 1992) : An estimate of staff and other Departmental costs is not readily available. One consultancy study has been undertaken : the fee is covered by commercial confidentiality.
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of savings in his Department as a result of the market testing programme.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 1 July 1992] : Estimated savings in the first full year resulting from market testing undertaken within the past five years are as follows :
Year |£ ------------------------------1987-88 |1,081,000 1988-89 |138,000 1989-90 |357,000 1990-91 |721,000 1991-92 |646,779
Similar savings recur in each subsequent year.
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a date when he will announce the areas of work in his Department to be market tested ; and whether all relevant information will be made publicly available.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 1 July 1992] : The market testing programme for 1992-93 will be announced as soon as possible.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Corporaton Tax
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of public sector receipts was accounted for by corporation tax in each of the fiscal years 1985 to 1992 ; what proportion of those figures was attributable to foreign companies paying tax in the United Kingdom ; and what proportion of public sector receipts he has forecast to arise from corporation tax in 1992-93.
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Mr. Dorrell : The figures requested are given in the table. I regret that insufficient information is available to estimate the proportion of corporation tax receipts accounted for by foreign-owned companies.|c|Corporation tax receipts<1> as percentage|c| |c|of general government receipts|c| Year |Percentage ---------------------------------1985-86 |7.1 1986-87 |8.4 1987-88 |9.0 1988-89 |9.7 1989-90 |10.4 1990-91 |9.9 1991-92 |8.3 <2>1992-93 |7.3 <1>including advance corporation tax <2>FSBR forecast
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on the levels of corporation tax or corresponding taxes in each EEC or Group of Seven country.
Mr. Dorrell : The current main tax rates on corporate income are given in the table.
Country |Main national |Notes |corporate in- |come tax rate |Per cent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Belgium |39 Canada |38 |a. Rate for Canadian manufac- |turing income is 33 per cent.; |b. Less provincial tax credit of 10 |c. Plus 3 per cent. surcharge on |federal tax; |d. Plus provincial corporate |income tax (eg. Ontario: 14.5 |per cent.) (13.5 per cent. on |manufacturing income); |e. Effective total (in Ontario: |43.34 per cent.) (37.19 per |cent. on manufacturing Denmark |34 |The 34 per cent. rate is con- |ditional on payment of the |tax in two instalments during |the income year; otherwise |38 per cent. France |34 Germany |50 |a. 36 per cent. on distributed |profits; |b. Plus local trade tax on |corporate income - average |rate about 20 per cent. - |deductible for federal tax; |effective total: approximate- |ly 60 per cent. (49 per cent. |on distributed profits). Greece |46 |Rates are 35 per cent. or 40 per |cent. for certain manufactur- Ireland |40 |10 per cent. for manufacturing |companies Italy |36 |Plus local corporate income tax |at standard 16.2 per cent. |rate, of which 75 per cent. is |deductible for national tax, |giving effective total of 47.8 |per cent. Japan |37.5 |a. Plus 2.5 per cent. surcharge on |tax over Y4 million; |b. Plus local taxes on corporate |income at varying rates; |c. Effective total: approximately |52 per cent. Luxembourg |33 |a. Plus 1 per cent. surcharge for |the unemployment fund; |b. Plus local trade tax on |corporate income at varying |rates - typically 10 per cent. |deductible for national tax; |c. Effective total: approximately |40 per cent. Netherlands |35 Portugal |36 |Plus municipal surcharge - |typically 10 per cent.deduct- |ible for national tax, giving |effective total of 38.3 per |cent. Spain |35 |Plus 1.5 per cent. surcharge for |the Chamber of Commerce, |giving effective total of |35.525 per cent. United Kingdom |33 United States |34 |a. Plus corporate income tax in |most states (eg. 9.3 per cent. |in California), deductible for |federal tax; |b. Effective total (in California): |40.13 per cent.
In several of the above countries, lower tax rates apply to the income of small companies.
Inheritance Tax (Exemptions)
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of landowners in each county in the United Kingdom who have benefited under the tax procedures by which tax liability is reduced on condition that there is an undertaking to manage and protect the land from development and allow reasonable public access.
Mr. Dorrell : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on30 June 1992, Official Report, columns 469-70.
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria his Department uses to assess the benefits of inheritance tax exemptions for granting access to works of art ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell : In return for conditional exemption for works of art from inheritance tax, owners are required to give undertakings to keep the property permanently in the United Kingdom, preserve the property and provide reasonable public access to it. The exemption therefore makes a valuable contribution towards the maintenance of, and public enjoyment of, the national heritage.
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Cumbria have benefited under the tax procedures by which tax liability is reduced on the condition that there is an undertaking to make works of art owned by them available for public access.
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Mr. Dorrell : The information requested is not readily available.Mr. Martlew : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer where tax exemption has been given to the inheritors of works of art, and public access is given, whether the owners are allowed to charge the public for access.
Mr. Dorrell : Where property is exhibited in a room open to the public or viewing is allowed by appointment, the owner may make a reasonable entry charge.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will place in the Library the annual reports submitted by landowners to the various heritage advisory agencies in England concerning the monitoring of land conditionally exempted from inheritance tax in each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement ; (2) if he will place in the Library the annual reports submitted by landowners to the various heritage advisory agencies in Scotland concerning the monitoring of land conditionally exempted from inheritance tax in each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) if he will place in the Library the annual reports submitted by landowners to the various heritage advisory agencies in Wales concerning the monitoring of land conditionally exempted from inheritance tax in each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 2 July 1991] : No. Disclosure of the annual reports which are required to be submitted as part of the monitoring process to the various heritage advisory agencies by the owners of land which has been conditionally exempted from inheritance tax would breach the normal rules ensuring taxpayers'
confidentiality.
EC Economic and Finance Council
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.
Mr. Lamont [holding answer 2 July 1992] : The Economic and Finance Council of the European Community met in Luxembourg on 29 June and I represented the United Kingdom.
Substantial progress was made on two directives important to the completion of the single market in financial services. Political agreement was reached on some of the most contentious points of the investment services directive. The two which caused most concern to member states were the direct access by banks to stock exchanges and market transparency. On the former issue, Belgium, France and Italy were granted a short transitional period during which they would not be required to grant banks direct access to their exchanges, while Greece, Portugal and Spain will have a longer transitional period with a report from the Commission on whether it should be extended. The agreement on market transparency recognises the need to avoid damaging existing market structures, in particular the United Kingdom's quote-driven market making system.
A political agreement on a common position was reached on the capital adequacy directive. Among the main outstanding points resolved to my satisfaction were minimum levels of initial capital, the recognition of
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partnership capital and comitology procedures. The treatment of commodities trading and index-linked and low coupon bonds was not finalised in the present directive, but will be the subject of new proposals from the Commission. It was agreed that the date of implementation of the directive would coincide with the--as yet undecided--date of implementation of the investment services directive.In a discussion of indirect taxes, the Council returned to the presidency package covering the eight draft directives on rates and structures for VAT and excise goods, and the draft seventh VAT directive on second-hand goods, including works of art.
I restated the United Kingdom's position that it is not necessary for the completion of the single market to have in place a permanent legally binding EC-wide minimum standard rate of VAT. I did, however, indicate that I could accept a Commission proposal for a time limited minimum rate of 15 per cent. with provision for a review no later than 31 December 1996, and provided that it formed part of an overall agreement which included a satisfactory solution to the minimum rate for spirits and the definition of intermediate alcohol products. The Commission's proposal would have no practical effect on the United Kingdom's current standard rate of 17.5 per cent. It would be subject to review before the end of 1996. Some other member states, however, expressed anxiety about what could happen at the time of the review.
The presidency proposed that the minimum excise duty rate for spirits should be 600 ecu per hectolitre of pure alcohol, and that member states with a current rate of duty not exceeding 1,000 ecu should not be able to reduce their rates. However it was not possible to reach agreement--some member states, concerned about cross-border shopping, were still seeking a minimum rate higher than 600 ecu, while I reiterated that I was not prepared to agree to a minimum rate for spirits that would force any member state to put up its duty on spirits.
On the structure of alcohol duties, I indicated that I was prepared to consider a text that allowed intermediate products below 15 per cent. alcohol by volume to be taxed at a reduced rate, which could be equal to the wine rate of duty. This was not acceptable to two member states.
There was no discussion on mineral oils or tobacco products. There was no substantive discussion of the presidency's latest proposals on the seventh VAT directive, but I renewed the United Kingdom's reserve on the proposed treatment of imports of works of art.
These draft directives will now be discussed further under our presidency.
The Council also briefly considered the present state of negotiations on the taxation of road transport and the proposed directive on the taxation of interest and royalties. It was agreed that both issues should be remitted to working groups for further discussion.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
China
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the practice of forced abortion in China ; what representations he has made to the Government of China regarding the practice ; and what provisions exist under the
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treaty with China on Hong Kong governing the extent to which citizens of Hong Kong may be subject to the laws of the Government of China regarding the number of children that each family may have when the government of Hong Kong passes to China.Mr. Goodlad : In our contacts with the Chinese authorities, they have told us that forced abortion is not official policy. There are nevertheless many reports that such practices are condoned in more isolated areas. The joint declaration guarantees Hong Kong people the freedom to marry and the right to raise a family freely, and this guarantee is reiterated in the Basic Law which will become the constitution of Hong Kong on 1 July.
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese authorities about their use of labour camps and the case of Mr. Harry Wu, a Chinese citizen currently living in the United States of America.
Mr. Goodlad : We have made clear to the Chinese authorities on many occasions our deep concern about the widespread abuses of human rights in China. The Government continue to urge all states that have not yet ratified international instruments covering slavery, forced labour and similar practices, including China, to do so at the earliest opportunity. We have no plans to make representations about the specific case of Mr. Harry Wu.
EFTA
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the agreements negotiated between the European Community and the European Free Trade Association since 1979.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been notified by the Commission of the European Communities of the following three agreements to which the European Community and all members of the European Free Trade Association are party : convention on the simplification of formalities in trade in goods, signed at Interlaken 20 May 1987 ;
convention on a common transit procedure, signed at Interlaken 20 May 1987 ;
agreement laying down a Procedure for the exchange of information in the field of technical regulations signed at Brussels 19 December 1989.
The negotiations between the European Community and the member states of the European Free Trade Association on the establishment of the European economic area were concluded this year. The agreement was signed in Oporto on 2 May 1992 but has still to be ratified.
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