House of Commons
Tuesday 28 October 1997
The House met at half-past Two o'clock
PRAYERS
[Madam Speaker in the Chair]
NEW WRIT
For the county constituency of Winchester, in the room of Mark Oaten Esquire, whose election on 1 May 1997 has been declared to be void.--[Mr. Tyler.]
Oral Answers to Questions
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
The Secretary of State was asked--
Single Currency
1. Mr. Hawkins: What is Her Majesty's Government's policy on joining the arrangements for a single currency on 1 January 1999. [12111]
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook): As the Chancellor of the Exchequer made clear in his statement yesterday, British membership of a single currency in 1999 could not meet the five economic tests that the Government have set out. The Government will therefore be notifying our European partners that we shall not seek membership of the single currency on 1 January 1999.
Mr. Hawkins: Will the Foreign Secretary now answer the question that the Chancellor of the Exchequer so obviously ducked yesterday: will the Government be applying for European funding to propagandise for our joining the euro?
Mr. Cook: I am happy to say that we shall not be making any such application. It is a decision for the British people. As we assured the House yesterday, if and when the Government should take a decision to join the single currency, we shall put the matter to a referendum of the British people, who will have the final veto, as is their right.
Mr. Corbyn: Will the Foreign Secretary tell the House what proposals he has and what pressure he intends to put on the European Union to ensure that any central bank is democratically controlled and is accountable to an elected body somewhere, rather than its being an unelected organisation dictating economic policies to member states?
Mr. Cook: My colleague the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday made it clear that it is, and long has
been, our policy to press for a strengthening of ECOFIN so that it can set broad economic parameters and strategy within which the central bank would operate. That remains our position, and we shall continue to work for it.
Mr. Howard: Yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that it was not the Government's intention to join the exchange rate mechanism. How do the Government square that with the exchange rate mechanism requirements of the Maastricht treaty?
Mr. Cook: I am happy to confirm what the Chancellor said yesterday, which is that we have no intention of joining the exchange rate mechanism. As he himself said, there have been many changes to that exchange rate mechanism since the Maastricht treaty. What will be required of us, should and when we ever wish to join the single currency, is evidence of currency stability. That can be perfectly well arranged without membership of the ERM.
Mr. Howard: Will then the right hon. Gentleman confirm that the effect of that answer is that the pound will shadow the euro for at least two years before any date of entry to EMU?
Mr. Cook: No, I can confirm no such thing. We have made it perfectly plain that we do not intend to join the ERM. We have also made it perfectly plain, if and when it appears to be in Britain's economic interest, that we will join. I am bound to say that I thought that that would have been welcomed by the right hon. and learned Gentleman. In the past three months, his party has gone through three different policies on the euro--
Mr. Howard: Answer the question.
Mr. Cook: I have answered the question. The right hon. and learned Gentleman's party began by ruling the euro out for several decades; it then ruled it out for one decade, and now it rules it out for the foreseeable future. It is a matter of relief to the country that the Conservatives will be in opposition for several decades to sort out their policy.
Mr. Skinner: Is my right hon. Friend aware that I am pleased that the Government will not apply to join the exchange rate mechanism? After what happened on 16 September 1992, that would be like a dog returning to its vomit.
Mr. Cook: I think that my hon. Friend will wish me to clarify to the House that it was not our vomit, but that of the Conservatives. He puts his finger on one of the reasons why we are in office and they are out of office.
Indonesia
2. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: If he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's relations with the ASEAN group of nations with particular reference to Indonesia. [12112]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Derek Fatchett): We have good relations with ASEAN countries. My right hon. Friend the Foreign
Secretary's visit in August to four ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, underlined the importance that we attach to the region.
Mr. Winterton: Does the Minister accept that Indonesia, which is the fourth largest country in the world by population, is a powerful member of the ASEAN group and an important trade outlet for the United Kingdom? Does he not believe that we should treat Indonesia as well as we treat the People's Republic of China--a country where democracy is non-existent and which has a desperately bad human rights record?
Mr. Fatchett: We have good and constructive relations with Indonesia. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met President Suharto and Foreign Minister Alatas during his visit. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman saw the press statements on the outcome of those meetings and will be impressed by the commitment on both sides to the continuing commercial relationship.
Mr. Sheerman: I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on his successful recent visit to Indonesia. May I press the Minister a little further on what progress was made on agreements to encourage proper trading relationships with Indonesia? Will Indonesia become a burgeoning market for this country, apart from in certain sensitive materials?
Mr. Fatchett: My hon. Friend recognises the importance of Indonesia as a commercial market. We seek to keep that market open and we will do all that we can to ensure that British goods and services are available at commercial prices in Indonesia. We look forward with great confidence to developing our position in that market.
Dr. Tonge: Will the Secretary of State explain why, given his avowed intention not to trade with countries that have bad human rights records, another 11 arms contracts with Indonesia were signed during the summer recess?
Mr. Fatchett: The hon. Lady is misinformed about the Government's policy. We have a series of objectives. Human rights is one, but many others come into play. We have judged each of the contracts to which the hon. Lady refers against the criteria that we have published and we shall continue to make decisions on any contract against those criteria. We are able to do that openly, which the previous Administration were not.
Middle East Peace Process
3. Mr. Burden: If he will make a statement on his assessment of progress in the middle east peace process. [12113]
Mr. Robin Cook: The Government share the widespread concern at the lack of progress in the middle east peace process. I spoke with the United States Secretary of State before and after her recent visit to the region. I very much welcome the fact that it has produced a resumption of dialogue, which will have our full support.
Mr. Burden: I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. We all want success in the middle east peace
process. Does he share my concern at statements made this week by the Israeli Prime Minister that illegal settlement building will continue? Will he tell the House how the Government can assist in persuading Israel that it, along with other parties, should take time out from unilateral actions? That should include illegal settlement building in east Jerusalem and elsewhere.
Mr. Cook: We have fully endorsed the demand by Madeleine Albright for the Israeli Government to take time out from settlement building in the occupied territories. It is extremely important, if we are to make progress at the negotiating table, that the process should not be undermined by provocative acts on the ground. What is required is an outcome that offers a permanent peace on the basis of security for the Israeli people and justice for the Palestinian people.
Mr. Soames: What is the nature of the representations that the Foreign Secretary has made to the Government of Israel following the attempted assassination of a Palestinian citizen in Jordan? Does he agree that that is the most astonishing and wicked act? Will he tell the Government of Israel that the British Government cannot share their ambitions in this respect and that they wish to see them begin to make progress in the peace talks, not merely act in a duplicitous manner?
Mr. Cook: I am happy to assure the hon. Gentleman that we have registered our condemnation in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv. The Government fully condemn terrorist acts. We are anxious to ensure that terrorism is halted, but we believe that one does not halt terrorism by adopting the tactics of the terrorist.
Dr. Starkey: The Minister will be aware that I recently visited the west bank and Gaza to see for myself the effects on the ground of the Israeli policy of internal closures. Those policies have resulted in Gaza being shut off for, on average, one day in three over the past three years. They have resulted in 65 per cent. unemployment and in Palestinians suffering from less freedom of movement than was the case before the Oslo agreement was signed, which has obviously had a detrimental effect on Palestinian public opinion. Can the Minister assure me that he is taking action to make representations to the Israeli Government, either directly or through the European Union, to get them to stop the unproductive policy of internal closures?
Mr. Cook: I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that one of the positive effects of Madeleine Albright's visit was a sharp reduction in the Israeli Government's closure programme. I fully endorse my hon. Friend's general points. The closure process has resulted in a sharp increase in unemployment and a loss of economic trade throughout the Palestinian entity. It is important that the Israeli Government should take on board the fact that they are unlikely to succeed in the peace process if the Palestinian people find that, throughout the peace process, their standard of living goes down rather than up.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |