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Rogue States

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential threat to (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the NATO area from rogue states. [138009]

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Mr. Vaz: The Government continually reviews, in close consultation with our Allies, potential threats to the United Kingdom and to our NATO Allies from all sources.

Single European Foreign Policy

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 November 2000, Official Report, column 536W, on the single European Foreign Policy, if he will list the principal UK national foreign policy objectives which the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy is a means of achieving. [137928]

Mr. Vaz: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's nine objectives are stated in the department's Public Service Agreement. The EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy has contributed most notably to objectives one and four. Objective one is "A secure United Kingdom within a more peaceful and stable world" and objective four is "A strong international community; leading to an improved quality of life worldwide".

International Criminal Court

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 November 2000, Official Report, column 539W, for what reason the United Kingdom has not ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. [137921]

Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 2 November 2000, Official Report, column 565W.

Chagos Islands and Diego Garcia

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the return of displaced islanders to Diego Garcia. [137915]

Mr. Battle: We have decided to accept the ruling of the Court. The Ilois are now able to return to the outer islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Our first priority is to press ahead with the technical work we have in hand to assess the feasibility of settlement on those islands. In the meantime we will be open to discussion with the Ilois community about the practicalities of any return. We will also be consulting the Governments of the United States and Mauritius about the implications of the judgment.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the security implications of the return of displaced islanders to Diego Garcia. [137907]

Mr. Battle: The Ilois are now free to return to the outer islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory but access to Diego Garcia will continue to be controlled strictly and will be by permit only.

We will be discussing the security implications of the court case on the US Naval Support Facility on Diego Garcia with the US authorities.

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Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the assistance his Department intends to give to the displaced peoples of the Chagos Islands in British Indian Ocean Territory to return home. [137874]

Mr. Battle: Our first priority is to continue the work we have begun to assess the physical, financial, social, environmental and economic feasibility of settlement on the outer islands of the territory. Once we have the results of this feasibility study, we will be in a position to consider what further assistance might be appropriate.

Single European Currency

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had since 29 September with the foreign ministers of (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) Denmark about the single European currency. [137918]

Mr. Vaz: The Secretary of State meets other European Union foreign ministers on a regular basis and discusses a wide range of issues.

Middle East (Terrorist Threat)

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the terrorist threat to British visitors to Middle Eastern countries. [137916]

Mr. Hain: We have revised our travel advice notices to reflect the increased risk to British travellers to the Middle East as a result of heightened tensions in the region. Successive up-dates of travel advice for the countries affected have been available from the Travel Advice Unit and via the FCO website, www.fco.gov.uk.

International Relations

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's relations with (a) Libya, (b) Iran, (c) Syria and (d) Yemen. [137917]

Mr. Hain: The United Kingdom enjoys full diplomatic relations with Libya, Iran, Syria and Yemen. We are constructively engaged with each country, and we continue to encourage them to play a positive role in the international community.

EU (Co-sovereignty)

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 November 2000, Official Report, column 539W, what representations he has made to Germany in respect of the German Foreign Minister's proposal for co-sovereignty between states within the EU. [137904]

Mr. Vaz: Ministers regularly discuss EU issues with all EU partners. The Prime Minister made clear our position in his speech in Warsaw on 6 October.

Israel

Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts he has had with the Israeli Government and when, to ascertain that

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equipment and components licensed for export to the Israeli armed forces by Her Majesty's Government since 1990 have not been used (a) against civilians in the Occupied Territories and (b) in southern Lebanon. [138071]

Mr. Hain: We are, and have been, in regular direct contact with the Israeli Government, including at senior Israeli military official level, as part of our inquiries to confirm that equipment and components licensed for export from the UK have not been used against civilians in the Occupied Territories or southern Lebanon.

Kosovo

Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many United Kingdom police officers are serving with the United Nations International Police Force in Kosovo; how many of these officers are undertaking (a) a six-month and (b) a 12-month tour of duty; and if he will make a statement. [137123]

Mr. Hain: There are currently 136 UK police officers serving with the United Nations International Police in Kosovo. Of these, 107 are undertaking a 12-month tour of duty. The remaining 29 have completed a 12-month tour of duty which has, at their request, been extended by a further six months. None of the officers currently deployed is serving a six-month tour of duty.

Institutional Reform (EU)

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations the Government have made in the Council of Ministers on the proposals in the paper CONFER 4790/00, 'Progress report on the intergovernmental conference on Institutional Reform', relating to the extension of qualified majority voting to Article 191; [138020]

(2) what representations the Government have made in the Council of Ministers on the proposals in the paper CONFER 4790/00, 'Progress report on the intergovernmental conference on Institutional Reform', relating to procedures for making regulations governing political parties at European level, with particular reference to their funding. [137977]

Mr. Vaz: Political parties at European level were first recognised in the Maastricht Treaty. The proposal for a legal base to allow the establishment of a Statute to regulate these parties is intended to ensure the transparency of their funding. We strongly support this aim.

The details of such a legal base are still under discussion.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made in the Council of Ministers on the proposals in the paper CONFER 4790/00, 'Progress report on the intergovernmental conference on Institutional Reform', relating to (1) enhanced co-operation measures; [137982]

(2) the new conditions for enhanced co-operation measures; [137981]

(3) the abolition of the national veto on enhanced co-operation measures; [137978]

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(4) the application of enhanced co-operation procedure to Title V. [137983]

Mr. Vaz: The Prime Minister set out the Government's position on enhanced co-operation in his Warsaw speech on 6 October.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if it remains the Government's policy that immigration and asylum issues fall within the definition of border controls for the purpose of qualified majority voting; [137980]

(2) what representations the Government have made in the Council of Ministers on the proposals in the paper CONFER 4790/00, "Progress report on the intergovernmental conference on Institutional Reform", relating to the extension of qualified majority voting to aspects of asylum and immigration policy; [138021]

(3) what representations the Government have made in the Council of Ministers on the proposals in the paper CONFER 4790/00, "Progress report on the intergovernmental conference on Institutional Reform", relating to items for possible extensions of qualified majority voting. [137976]

Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 30 October 2000, Official Report, column 238W.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made in the Council of Ministers on the proposals in the paper CONFER 4790/00, 'Progress report on the intergovernmental conference on Institutional Reform', relating to the draft amendments to Article 7. [137979]

Mr. Vaz: The Government have made it clear that they are happy to discuss the proposal for a new early warning mechanism to be applied before any decision to take measures against a member state under Article 7 TEU. The details remain under negotiation.

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