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Information Campaigns
5. Mr. Gibb: What European Commission finance is presently available in the United Kingdom to fund information campaigns. [15993]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Doug Henderson): General information and communication work concerning the European Union, including the Commission's information activities in the United Kingdom, is funded under chapter B3-30 of the European Community budget. For 1997, 107 million ecu--which is about £72 million at current exchange rates--has been allocated.
Mr. Gibb: On 28 October 1997, the Foreign Secretary made it clear to the House that the Government would not apply for European Union funding to pay for a pro-single currency campaign. How is that statement consistent with the answer that the Minister has just given or with the views of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has made it clear elsewhere that the Government will be applying for European Union funds to pay for a euro campaign?
Mr. Henderson: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has approached the European Commission on whether it would provide some funding for a general information campaign, so that British business and British citizens have access to information on very important matters which will be considered in the coming months and years. The difference between the previous Government and
this Government is that they thought that everything should be kept secret, whereas we think that information should be provided to inform people.
Mr. Cunliffe: Does the Minister agree that, for informed debate on Europe, it is imperative that essential information is provided? Is it not clear that the Tories want a debate informed by their own prejudice, and that they are not interested in the facts?
Mr. Henderson: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Commission now knows where the Government stand on the issues. Before the general election, the Commission did not know whether it should speak to one end of the Government or the other, because each gave a different answer--making it impossible to provide information.
Mr. Streeter: Is not the point that, on 28 October, the Foreign Secretary told the House that there would be no EU funding to promote the euro? The Minister has now had to concede that there will be a general information campaign, funded by the EU, to inform people about the euro. What is the difference? Is it not merely a disingenuous play on words? Does it not come from the same stable as the Prime Minister's assurance last week that he had paid back the £1 million, only to concede five minutes later that it had not been paid back? Would it not be better if Labour Ministers adopted a new policy of telling Parliament the truth in the first place?
Mr. Henderson: I am surprised at the hon. Gentleman. I should have thought that he would realise that there is a huge difference between the propaganda against Europe that the previous Government frequently tried to perpetrate and giving information to people, so that they can make their own assessment of the issues involved and make their own preparations--so that, when and if a referendum is held on the matter, they can make a decision based on knowledge, not prejudice.
Japan
6. Mr. Charles Clarke: If he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's relations with Japan. [15994]
Mr. Fatchett: The United Kingdom enjoys excellent relations with Japan, which we regard as a special partner. Japan is our largest export market in Asia and a major inward investor in the United Kingdom. We work closely with Japan on a wide range of subjects, including joint science and technology projects, international peacekeeping, commercial collaboration in third markets and joint aid projects. There are also growing ties between the British and the Japanese people. We want to build closer relations in the future. The visit of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to Japan, in January, will be an important step towards that objective.
Mr. Clarke: I thank my hon. Friend for his response. Will he confirm that future relations between the United Kingdom and Japan will be strengthened by an open acknowledgement by the Japanese Government of the crimes of the past? Will the Government and the Prime Minister, on his visit next year, continue to press for full appropriate compensation for Japanese labour camp
victims and civilian internees? Does he acknowledge that full compensation is the basis for a stronger, better and more fruitful relationship in the future?
Mr. Fatchett: Since the Labour party was elected in May, I have had several meetings with representatives of the former prisoners of war. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have also had a series of meetings with Japanese Ministers and officials and we have suggested possible ways in which the wartime sufferings of the former prisoners of war could be recognised and acted on. I am sure that all right hon. and hon. Members welcomed the gesture by the Japanese ambassador in attending the Remembrance day service at Coventry cathedral the other week. That was a warming gesture of reconciliation and I hope that we can build on it in the next few months.
Mr. Menzies Campbell: Do not events earlier today in Japan raise some profound questions about the issue of security? Is it not the case that, for a country such as the United Kingdom, economic turbulence--of the kind seen in Japan--is likely to be as disadvantageous as military threats? In the light of those circumstances, what measures have the Government urged on the Japanese Government, as a fellow member of the Group of Eight, as a means of restoring economic confidence in the domestic Japanese economy?
Mr. Fatchett: We all recognise the global significance of the events in south-east Asia, and Japan and Korea. We know that the Governments in the region are working closely with the International Monetary Fund and others, which is the right approach to open up their trade, to liberalise their markets and to take some of the measures that are crucial for their long-term financial and economic security.
One lesson that we must learn from the Japanese experience--much reinforced to me last week when I spoke to inward investors from Japan--is that, if we follow the Conservative party's European policies, Japanese inward investors will cut their investment in the United Kingdom. Every Japanese company that I visited told me that Conservative policies would put tens of thousands of jobs at risk.
Ms Squire:
I very much welcome what my hon. Friend has just told the House. Does he share the concern of my constituents in Dunfermline, and people elsewhere in the United Kingdom, who have benefited from inward investment from south-east Asia? What measures will the Foreign Office take to ensure that we remain an attractive destination for investment by Japan, South Korea and other south-east Asian countries?
Mr. Fatchett:
There was no doubt, during my discussions with Japanese and Korean inward investors last week, that the United Kingdom remained an attractive location. We have become even more attractive since 1 May, because inward investors know that we have political stability, and that we are committed to Europe and intend to be a central part of it. The messages from the previous Government were a strong disincentive to inward investment.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
I am sure that the Minister is right that one of the reasons why Japanese companies
Mr. Fatchett:
Not one Japanese company mentioned that to me last week. They saw attractive propositions in the United Kingdom and they will continue to look to this country as a suitable location for inward investment. If the right hon. Lady had a strong message on Europe, it would be attractive to Japanese companies. My wish for her is that she could win more support in her party, but she is sadly isolated in her beliefs.
7. Mr. Dismore:
If he will make a statement about his recent meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel. [15995]
Mr. Robin Cook:
Prime Minister Netanyahu and I had a two-hour meeting, covering the middle east peace process and other regional issues and bilateral relations. I made clear our support for Israel's security, but also set out our concerns about the current state of the peace process and the urgent need to move forward on issues such as the airport and sea port in Gaza, free passage between Gaza and the west bank, an end to the expansion of settlements and further redeployments of Israeli troops from the Palestinian entity. Britain is committed to a successful outcome of the middle east peace process on the basis of peace with security for Israelis and peace with justice for Palestinians.
Mr. Dismore:
Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that he will continue to encourage progress towards accelerated final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians? Does he agree that we can make a major contribution to the peace process by promoting the economic development necessary to underpin it?
Mr. Cook:
I entirely agree that progress towards final status talks would be desirable, but there is a lack of confidence on both sides that an offer of accelerated final status talks would be genuine. There must be some interim agreements as a gesture of good will and good faith to make it possible to proceed.
It is vital that economic progress underpins the peace process. One of the problems in the middle east is that the income and standard of living of most Palestinians have declined during the period of peace. That must be reversed. We must show the people on the back streets of Gaza that the peace process will deliver real improvements in their standard of living.
Mr. Fabricant:
Does the Foreign Secretary agree that pressure should be brought to bear on Chairman Arafat, who made certain agreements in Oslo that have not been kept? It is unfair to expect Israel to go beyond the Oslo agreement when that agreement has not been fulfilled.
Mr. Cook:
Nobody is asking the Israeli Government to go beyond the Oslo accord. They are being asked to adhere to an agreement that, although it was entered into by a previous Government, is binding on the successor Government, as any international agreement is.
Mr. Ernie Ross:
As my right hon. Friend knows, 29 November is the 50th anniversary of United Nations Security Council resolution 181, which partitioned Palestine. As we approach that anniversary, has my right hon. Friend been able to impress on the Prime Minister of Israel the need to move towards final status negotiations, to resolve the problems with the Palestinians and to include in those negotiations the right of the Palestinians to a state?
Mr. Cook:
It has long been the position of the British Government that the possibility of statehood for the Palestinian entity should not be excluded from the final status talks. The sooner we make progress on interim agreements, such as opening the Gaza sea port and airport, which would be an immense boost to the local economy, the sooner we can reach the final status talks to consider the larger issues.
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