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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
EU Directives
Sir Richard Body: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many European Union Directives have been incorporated into the law of the United Kingdom. [117582]
Mr. Vaz: A comprehensive list of all European legislation in force as at 1 December 1999 is contained in the Official Journal Directory of Community legislation in force (34th Ed.). This is updated every six months and is available in the Library of the House. More in depth information on all legislation referred to is available from the Celex database which has been open to the public since 1981.
Gibraltar
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the present position is as regards delays faced by motor vehicles at the Gibraltar/Spain border; and if he will make a statement. [117410]
Mr. Vaz: Most traffic crosses from Gibraltar to Spain during the main daytime and evening hours. In recent weeks, delays at these times have generally ranged from 20 minutes to one hour. At times, during the rush hour, delays have gone above one hour, and, on occasion, there have been peaks of up to two hours.
Sri Lanka
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Norwegian Government about Sri Lanka. [117641]
Mr. Vaz:
The Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) discussed the Norwegian initiative in Sri Lanka with State Secretary Wegger Stromen on 7 March. The government of which Mr. Stromen was a member has now fallen. The Secretary of State plans to make early contact with the new Norwegian Foreign Minister, Thorbjorn Jagland, when he will have an opportunity to discuss Norway's role in Sri Lanka.
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Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to his answer of 20 January 2000, Official Report, column 536W, on the Helsinki Council, the terms of reference, guidance and accountability of the standing committees have been determined. [117486]
Mr. Vaz:
No decisions have been taken on the establishment of these bodies in their permanent form. The Council decided on 15 February to establish equivalent bodies on an interim basis. Under these decisions, the Interim Political and Security Committee, a separate formation of the Political Committee, shall, in close contacts with the Secretary General/High Representative prepare recommendations for the Council on the future functioning of the common European security and defence policy and deal with common foreign and security policy affairs on a day-to-day basis. An Interim Military Body, consisting of representatives of member states' Chiefs of Defence, shall give military advice as required to the Political Committee, including in its formation as the interim Political and Security Committee, and to the Secretary General/High Representative. It is assisted by military experts seconded from member states to the Council Secretariat. The military experts will provide military expertise to the Interim Military Body and the Secretary General/High Representative to support the common foreign and security policy. They will form the nucleus of the future military staff.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the implications for non-proliferation of United States' plans to establish a National Missile Defence Shield Programme, involving forward bases in the United Kingdom [117675]
Mr. Vaz:
The United States has not yet decided to deploy any such system. Its implications for non-proliferation would depend on the circumstances in which it were deployed.
The United States Administration has said that the implications for the overall strategic environment and for arms control will be one of the key criteria against which any deployment decision is taken.
Mr. Donald Anderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the contribution funded from his Department for the reconstruction of Kosovo since June 1999; and what have been the levels of the contribution of (a) other EU member states, (b) Canada and (c) the USA. [117159]
Mr. Vaz:
The UK is donating £119 million in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in 1999 and 2000. A further £15 million is also available for assistance to international relief organisations and to de-mining projects. Over the same period the other EU member states (excluding the UK) are donating 1.1 billion euros in bilateral humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. The Community itself allocated 507.7 million euros in 1999 and is donating 295 million euros in humanitarian and
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reconstruction assistance for 2000. The Canadian Government have committed C$34.5 million in humanitarian and budgetary assistance and C$69.5 million in peace-building initiatives from April 1999 to March 2001. The US has allocated £168 million in reconstruction aid and $95.6 million in humanitarian aid over 1999-2000.
Mr. Donald Anderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many police officers have been provided by the United Kingdom to serve in Kosovo; and how many have been provided by other countries. [117160]
Mr. Hain:
The United Kingdom has deployed 60 police officers to the United Nations International Police (UNIP) in Kosovo. At the request of the UN, we are increasing that contribution to 150 officers, including 20 specialists to help combat organised crime in Kosovo. In addition, the UK has contributed 40 officers to the OSCE-run school training the future Kosovo police service.
According to figures provided by the UN on 29 March, 2,760 civilian police officers have been deployed to UNIP by 43 other countries.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the use of arms in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo supplied to the Governments of (a) Uganda and (b) Zimbabwe from UK sources; and if he will make a statement. [117958]
Mr. Hain:
We have received no reports of British equipment previously supplied to the Ugandan Government being used by their forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We understand that two Hawk jets supplied from the UK to the Zimbabwe airforce are deployed in the DRC from time to time, though we have no details.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the forthcoming trial of the 13 detained Jews in Iran, with particular reference to the fairness of the trial procedure and whether independent observers will be permitted to attend. [117857]
Mr. Hain:
I refer to my answers to my hon. Friend's questions of 3 April 2000, Official Report, column 282W. It would not be right to speculate on the conduct of this trial before it has begun. The Iranian Government have stressed repeatedly that the trial of those detained on espionage charges, including members of the Jewish community, will be fair and open. These are commitments to which the international community will hold the Iranian government.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which companies have placed advertisements on websites funded by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies; how much revenue has been generated for each
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financial year since 1997 from such advertisements; and what use has been made of that revenue by his Department. [116597]
Mr. Hain:
No companies have placed advertisements on websites funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
Two companies have sponsored the Planet Britain website (www.planet-britain.org). Eagle Star contributed £35,000 to the costs of the 1998 website and accompanying CD-ROM while Glaxo Wellcome contributed £6,000 to both the 1998 and 2000 versions of the Planet Britain website. The logos of the two companies appear on the website.
Mr. Gray:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many workplace car parking spaces are available at the buildings used and controlled by her Department. [116764]
Mr. Stringer:
As at 31 March, the Cabinet Office's estate (which comprised 28 buildings; 17 in central London and 11 elsewhere) had a total of 762 car parking spaces. The parking spaces are used for a range of purposes: deliveries, operational, visitors and staff use. For example, the figure includes 226 spaces available to students attending courses at the Civil Service College. Further details are given in the table, a copy of which will be placed in the Library.
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