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Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times Ministers in his Department have held meetings with ministers and officials of the Irish Government since
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1 January, indicating the dates and locations of each meeting, the Ministers involved and the names of the Irish ministers and officials at each meeting. [90411]
Mr. Robin Cook:
There has been one formal bilateral meeting of a Foreign Office Minister with an Irish Minister since 1 January 1999. The Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West (Ms Quin), met Ms Sile de Valera, Irish Minister for Arts, Culture, the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) and the Islands, in the FCO on 17 June. Irish officials in attendance were Mr. Tadgh O'hEalaithe, Secretary General of the Department of Arts; Mr. Geoffrey Keating, First Secretary, Irish Embassy; and Ms Sheila Clifford, Ms de Valera's personal assistant.
I have regularly met the Irish Foreign Minister, David Andrews, at EU Councils, including the monthly meetings of the General Affairs Council, and have often held exchanges with him in the margins.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the Department for International Development's reduction of the number of technical co-operation training places available in the UK on his Department's operations in developing countries. [90633]
Mr. Hoon
[holding answer 12 July 1999]: The Department for International Development have advised us that the Pre-service and In-service Training budget for Technical Co-operation has increased between 1996-97 and 1998-99 and is expected to rise further in 1999-2000. The number of technical co-operation training places under the Associate Professional Officer Scheme is also expected to increase.
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made on the proposals for constitutional reform in Montenegro; and if he will make a statement. [91243]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We have not made representations on constitutional reform in Montenegro. We have underlined our support for democracy in Montenegro. Our goal is to see democratic principles and values flourish throughout the FRY.
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what security guarantees have been provided by NATO to states in the Balkan region and their neighbours since the end of the Kosovo conflict; and if he will make a statement. [91228]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
No new security undertakings have been made by NATO to states in the Balkan region, nor to their neighbours, since the end of the Kosovo conflict. The Secretary General of NATO reiterated in his letter of 29 June to the Foreign Minister of Macedonia, Mr. Dimitrov that
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Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made recently on the issue of land seizures in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement. [91246]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
I have discussed land reform in Zimbabwe when I met President Mugabe on 5 July. The Government supports the principle of land reform, provided that the process is transparent, fair and sustainable; and welcomes the Zimbabwe government's adoption of the Inception Phase for land resettlement agreed with donors, stakeholders and beneficiaries at a conference in September 1998.
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what contact he has had with the leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia since the end of the conflict in Kosovo; [91233]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I both met the leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic, in London on 22 June.
Mr. Maples:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the postponement of local elections in Bosnia- Herzegovina. [91229]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Ambassador Robert Barry, Chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation's Provisional Election Commission for Bosnia and Herzegovina (PEC) announced on 24 June that, given the political situation in Bosnia, the PEC had decided to postpone forthcoming municipal elections in Bosnia until 8 April 2000. The PEC made the decision following consultations with representatives of the Bosnian political parties and other elected officials, the Peace Implementation Council established in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement and the OSCE.
The PEC has emphasised that the decision will not affect voter registration within Bosnia and Herzegovina or out-of-country which is continuing according to schedule.
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Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what non- proliferation assessments have been conducted by his Department over the past 12 months; and if he will place copies in the Library. [91247]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Before any decision is taken on non-proliferation policy, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office assesses and takes into account all relevant factors. Such assessments are covered by Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Internal discussion and advice). The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also contributes to assessments made elsewhere in the Government.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if arrangements are to be made by his Department for a delegation of hon. Members, apart from the Foreign Affairs Committee, to visit Kosovo. [91424]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
There are currently no arrangements in hand by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for Parliamentary delegations to visit Kosovo.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Attorney-General how much expenditure his Department (a) has incurred to date and (b) forecasts that it will incur in the future, on preparations for possible United Kingdom entry into the European single currency; and if he will make a statement. [91168]
The Attorney-General:
Following the publication of the Government's Outline National Changeover Plan, my Departments are considering what preparations may be necessary.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the new measures he announced in his oral statement of 21 May 1999, Official Report, columns 1371-73, on biotechnology will enable some commercial planting of genetically modified crops to take place with Government approval. [86128]
Mr. Meacher
[holding answer 8 June 1999]: The new measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office in his statement of 21 May were the SCIMAC (Supply Chain Initiative on Modified Agricultural Crops) Code of Practice and Guidelines. General planting of GM crops can take place only with Government approval. At present, no genetically modified (GM) crops have all the necessary approvals for general cultivation.
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Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answers of 22 March 1999, Official Report, columns 41-42, and 16 June 1999, Official Report, columns 135-36, on Parliamentary Scrutiny of Draft Directive 90/220 concerning powers of the Council of Ministers and Commission of the European Community to determine rules for the deliberate release into the environment of genetically-modified organisms; when the relevant draft was debated in the House; and how the directive differed from the draft then considered. [88688]
Mr. Meacher:
The position of the Government with regard to the original Commission proposal for the amendment of Directive 90/220 has been laid out in Explanatory Memorandum 6378/98, submitted to the House of Commons on 23 March 1998. I wrote to the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee on 27 November with further details of the Government's priorities in the negotiations, and the Explanatory Memorandum was debated in the House of Commons European Standing Committee A on 24 March 1999.
The Government submitted a further Explanatory Memorandum (7138/99) on 30 April following the publication of the Commission's amended proposal taking account of the European Parliament's Opinion. The Committee responded in its Nineteenth Report, acknowledging that the main issues had been thoroughly
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discussed, but seeking the Government's view on a number of outstanding issues. I responded to these points by letter on 22 June.
There were only two points on which the text agreed at Council differed from the position which the Government had laid out before the Committee. The time limitation of consents was fixed at a maximum of ten years for first marketing consents. This was above the Commission's proposal of seven years, but below the European Parliament's proposal of twelve years. Differentiated procedures were also deleted from Part C of the Directive which relates to marketing consents. The possibility of introducing differentiated procedures will be considered by the Commission as part of its review of the Directive in 2003.
Mr. Laurence Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 22 June 1999, Official Report, column 334, on genetically modified oilseed rape, when an application to release genetically modified crops on East Lodge Farm, Stanton, Gloucestershire was made; and when the applicant was notified of the outcome. [89747]
Mr. Meacher
[holding answer 5 July 1999]: Three consents have been issued in respect of East Lodge Farm, all in respect of genetically modified (GM) winter oilseed rape. Although the farm itself is inside the Gloucestershire boundary, the applications and consents refer to East Lodge Farm as being in Stanton, near Broadway, Worcestershire. The details of the consents are as follows:
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During the air campaign, Mr. Solana made clear in his letters to frontline Partner states that
"it would be unacceptable for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to threaten [their] territorial integrity, political independence or security".
We are committed to promoting long-term security and stability throughout the Balkan region. We are working bilaterally, and with partners and Allies in the Stability Pact and NATO's South East Europe Initiative, to build democracy, security and mutual confidence among the countries of the region.
(2) what contacts the United Kingdom Government have had with the leaders of Serbian opposition parties since the end of the conflict in Kosovo. [91234]
| Reference | Applicant | Application date | Consent issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| R30/3 | CPB Twyford Ltd. | 12 February 1998 | 15 June 1998 |
| R15/24 | Plant Genetic Systems | 16 February 1998 | 10 July 1998 |
| R22/6 | Monsanto plc | 20 June 1996 | 6 August 1996 |
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