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Prince Programme
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the Prince programme funding has been spent in the United Kingdom since the programme's inception; on what it has been spent; what plans he has in respect of further projects; what safeguards he has put in place to prevent its use for promotional purposes; and if he will make a statement. [12343]
Mr. Doug Henderson: Total prince spending in the UK in 1996--the first full year of the programme--was around 450,000 ecu. Of this, around 400,000 ecu was spent on Citizens First and 50,000 ecu on information about the Intergovernmental conference.
We are committed to raising the profile of Citizens First in the UK as we fully support its aim of informing people about their rights and opportunities in the EU. We will be helping to publicise the second phase of the programme over the next few months.
We have also applied for funding from Prince to meet half the costs of our "EMU: Information for Business" guide. The guide was produced by HM Treasury to help raise awareness in British business of the practical implications of EMU for their operations whether the UK were to join or not.
We believe that the British people have a right to accurate information about the EU, whether from Government Departments or from the Community institutions.
Mr. Streeter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of provisions relating to a common foreign and security policy in the draft Amsterdam treaty on the accession of Estonia to the EU. [12537]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Nothing in the CFSP provisions in the draft Amsterdam treaty will affect Estonia's eligibility to join the EU. Estonia, like every other applicant, would be expected to take on all the obligations in the treaty.
Mr. Streeter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards the recommendations contained in the second report from the Commission on citizenship of the Union (EC Cons Doc 8856/97). [12476]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
We welcome the report's recommendation that the EU improve citizens' awareness of their rights within the Union. In support of the aim, we are working to raise the profile of the Citizens First programme in the UK. We also agree with the need to ensure that citizen's rights are enforced.
The report claims that EU citizens will not have tangible evidence of the full effects of the internal market without the elimination of border controls. The UK's position is clear: our border controls are not incompatible with the proper functioning of the internal market,
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 669
including the free movement of persons. We do not intend to eliminate the UK's border controls, which are guaranteed in the treaty of Amsterdam.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet representatives from (a) anti-slavery and child welfare organisations, (b) the United Nations and (c) west African Governments to discuss the trafficking of children in west Africa; and if he will make a statement. [12895]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We deplore the practice of child trafficking. We have given strong support to the work of the United Nations, including the special rapporteur on the sale of children, in monitoring and combating it. We will continue to work for an end to the practice with relevant Governments and non-governmental organisations concerned with the issue.
Dr. Marek:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for consultation with the Governments of dependent territories during the current review of their status. [12961]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We have begun consultations with the Governments of the dependent territories. The Government of Gibraltar was already considering proposals for constitutional change before we announced this review. We will therefore be looking at these proposals separately.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list by section those aspects of the Amsterdam treaty which will require primary legislation to amend any United Kingdom Act of Parliament. [12849]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
It will be necessary to amend section 1(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 to give effect in domestic law to those provisions of the treaty of Amsterdam and those protocols adopted at Amsterdam which will form part of the Community legal order. These are articles 2 to 9, article 12, and the other provisions of the treaty so far as they relate to those articles; as well as the protocols adopted at Amsterdam other than the protocol on article J.7 of the treaty on European Union.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what copies of the provisional draft treaty of Amsterdam were available in the United Kingdom between its publication and 2 October; when and by whom the substantive text of the treaty, as signed on 2 October, was published in the United Kingdom; what significant changes in the text were made between the provisional and signatory versions of the treaty; and if he will place in the Library a full list of such changes. [12811]
Mr. Henderson:
Copies of the following versions of the draft treaty of Amsterdam were sent to Parliament on these dates:
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CONF/4004: 7 August
The final version of the treaty--CONF 4007--was sent to Parliament on 10 October, and will be published shortly as a command paper. No major changes were made in the text of the treaty between the provisional version and the treaty as signed. There were a number of declarations made which do not form part of the treaty.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what ministerial visits have been made to Colombia since 1 August; and if Ministers visited camps containing displaced peasant farmers forced from their lands by paramilitary groups. [12786]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
I am the only member of the Government to have visited Colombia since 1 August. I did not visit any of the camps containing displaced people, although I met and discussed the issue with their representatives.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Colombian Government about the situation of internally displaced peasant farmers in Colombia; and if he will make a statement. [12804]
Mr. Lloyd:
The plight of the displaced people of Colombia is a symptom of the internal conflict in that country. During my visit to Colombia last month, I raised with the Colombian Government our concerns about a variety of humanitarian problems resulting from the internal security situation, including that of displaced people.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) official entertainment functions and (b) conferences which have been held at (i) Chevening and (ii) 1 Carlton Gardens since May 1997. [12921]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The following official functions have taken place at Chevening:
In the majority of these cases these discussions required participants to stay overnight.
At 1 Carlton gardens the following functions have been held:
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 671
11 September: Lunch for the Austrian Foreign Minister
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he wrote to the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee inviting him to nominate a member to attend the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe conference in Vienna on politico-military aspects of security. [12802]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
I wrote to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 30 July. I invited the Committee to nominate a representative to join the UK delegation to the conference on the code of conduct on politico-military aspects of security in Vienna from 22 to 24 September.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons an invitation for a particular parliamentarian to attend the OSCE conference on politico-military aspects of security was addressed to the Foreign Affairs Committee and not to the OSCE delegation. [12803]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The conference in Vienna from 22 to 24 September to review the code of conduct on politico-military aspects of security was the first such conference since the code's adoption in December 1994. I addressed the invitation to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, rather than the UK delegation to the OSCE parliamentary assembly, because the democratic control of the military in Europe is a subject of wider, foreign affairs interest.
CONF/4001: 18 June
CONF/4002: 16 July
CONF/4005: 26 September
Conference organised by the Department of Social Services;
British German Economic Committee;
Conference arranged by the Department of Trade and Industry;
FCO Board of Management;
Conference for GCHQ.
21 May: Dinner for the governor of Hong Kong
24 May: Lunch for the Japanese Foreign Minister
12 June: Dinner for the Crown Prince of Nepal
7 July: Lunch for the Omani Foreign Minister
10 July: Lunch for the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group
21 July: Dinner for the Amir of Qatar
23 July: Lunch for the French Foreign Minister
8 September: Dinner for the American ambassador
10 September: Dinner for the Luxembourg Foreign Minister
12 September: Lunch for the Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group
12 September: Tea for the Italian Foreign Minister
20 October: Tea for the Belgian Foreign Minister
21 October: Lunch for the American ambassador
22 October: Lunch for the chief executive of the Hong Kong
special administrative region.
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