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Greece

16. Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to meet the Foreign Minister of Greece to discuss bilateral relations. [15439]

Mr. Bradshaw: Both the Foreign Secretary and I frequently meet the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs. The last full bilateral being on 4 October 2001.

Euro

17. Rosemary McKenna: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how widely he circulated the leaflet published by his Department giving information to British travellers on the introduction of euro coins and notes from 1 January 2002. [15440]

Peter Hain: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has distributed the leaflet on euro notes and coins widely, including to: airports, Eurostar, Stena P&O, the travel agency Trailfinders, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Members of Parliament in the UK and British MEPs, European Resource Centres, European Public Information Centres, Euro Regional Fora, British embassies in the European Union and EU embassies in London.

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In addition, a number of leaflets have been sent directly to members of the public at their request. The leaflet is also available to download from the FCO and BAA websites.

World Cup

20. David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Governments of Japan and Korea about the organisation and security of the FIFA world cup in 2002. [15443]

Mr. MacShane: Our representatives in Korea and Japan have been in close contact with the organising committees, stadia authorities, police and security authorities to provide advice and assistance. The Foreign Office has invited representatives to the UK to experience matches in the UK and look at how we handle security here. We have also held seminars in host countries on stadium security, crowd control and dealing with trouble-makers.

The Foreign Office has facilitated contacts between the Home Office, police and other relevant agencies and their Japanese and Korean counterparts.

Zimbabwe

23. Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy towards Zimbabwe. [15446]

Mr. Bradshaw: We urge the Government of Zimbabwe to honour the commitments they made in Abuja on 6 September; to end violence and intimidation; to permit freedom of expression; to restore the rule of law to land reform. With the Commonwealth, Southern African Development Community and EU partners, we share the same ultimate objective: a stable, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe.

24. Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Secretary General of the Commonwealth to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe. [15447]

Mr. Bradshaw: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Commonwealth Secretary General in Abuja on 6 September. My noble Friend, Baroness Amos, accompanied the Commonwealth Secretary General to Zimbabwe during the Commonwealth Committee visit on 25–27 October.

EU Enlargement

25. Dr. Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards the enlargement of the EU. [15448]

38. Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards the enlargement of the EU. [15461]

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave earlier in the House today to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake), at column 828.

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Iraq

28. Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Iraq about (a) bombing and (b) sanctions. [15451]

Mr. Bradshaw: None.

EU Subsidiarity

29. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in returning sovereignty to member states of the EU since the introduction of the subsidiarity provisions. [15452]

Peter Hain: Subsidiarity is not about returning powers to the member states. It is the principle which ensures that where the EC Treaty allows for action at both community and member state level, the most appropriate level is chosen each time action is required. Article 5 TEC and the Subsidiarity Protocol to the Amsterdam Treaty spell out how the principle is to be applied in practice.

Terrorism

30. Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about international diplomatic efforts against terrorism. [15454]

Mr. Bradshaw: The response of the international community to the appalling events of 11 September has been united and determined. The UN response has been swift.

Immediately following the attacks, the UN Security Council in Resolution 1368 said that it would hold accountable those indirectly and directly responsible; UNSCR 1373 followed this and obliged all countries to target terrorist finances and deny terrorist organisations a safe haven.

Following 11 September, the EU have prepared an action plan enhancing police and judicial co-operation, cutting funding of terrorists and improving air security. The G8 are working on a G8 Counter Terrorism Action Plan which will provide a solid basis for future counter- terrorism efforts.

Rough Diamonds

31. Mr. Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Kimberley process and the implementation of an effective global certification scheme for rough diamonds. [15455]

Peter Hain: The Kimberley process is meeting in Botswana. On the final day of the meeting (29 November) Ministers and senior officials will, I hope, agree that the detailed proposals for a global certification scheme for rough diamonds, which have been developed over the last nine months by the process, are ready to be presented for endorsement by the UN General Assembly early next year.

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Russia

32. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to foster good relations with Russia. [15456]

Peter Hain: Encouraging Russia's transformation into a reliable and predictable economic and political partner is a key UK foreign policy priority. Recent efforts to develop our relations have included visits to Moscow by my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is in regular contact with President Putin.

We strongly welcome Russia's support for the fight against international terrorism. We believe we have an opportunity to reassess relations with Russia and to find new ways of working together. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has written to Lord Robertson and NATO leaders with ideas for a new partnership between Russia and NATO. We are also considering how to develop EU-Russia links.

Gibraltar

33. Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent discussions with the Spanish Government over Gibraltar. [15457]

Peter Hain: The Government resumed talks with Spain under the Brussels Process in July. In accordance with the terms of the Brussels Communiqué issued in November 1984, the talks are aimed at overcoming all the differences between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar and at promoting co-operation on a mutually beneficial basis on economic, cultural, touristic, aviation, military and environmental matters. The Communiqué also establishes that issues of sovereignty will be discussed under the process.

A further round of talks was held in Barcelona on 20 November. A joint statement was issued copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart concerning the sovereignty of Gibraltar. [15450]

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given earlier in the House today by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton).

Nigeria

35. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Nigeria. [15459]

Mr. Bradshaw: The bilateral relationship with Nigeria is excellent. We are supporting the reform programme of President Obasanjo. We have encouraged high-level exchanges under UK/bilateral forum and we offered practical support through development assistance. We welcome Nigeria's active role in regional and international matters, including its helpful role on Zimbabwe.

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