---

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

Fair Trade

Mr. Weir: To ask the President of the Council (1) what fairly traded products, other than tea and coffee, have been purchased by his Department in each of the last five years; and what their value was; [17553]

(2) what the value is of fairly traded (a) tea and (b) coffee used in his Department in each of the last five years. [17552]

Mr. Robin Cook: None. The Privy Council Office does not, however, have a refreshment facility in which it could stock fair trade goods.

First Order Questions

Paul Goggins: To ask the President of the Council what plans he has to change the rota for first order questions. [21596]

Mr. Robin Cook: From January 2002 there will be two changes:

(i) Trade and Industry questions will be reduced to 50 minutes, so as to provide Members with 10 minutes to question the Secretary of State covering her role as Minister for Women.

(ii) Provision has also been made during questions to the Church Commissioners, and Public Accounts Commission for Members to question the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Gibraltar

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next proposes to meet his Spanish counterpart as part of the Brussels process. [18894]

Peter Hain: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Spanish Foreign Minister propose to hold a further ministerial meeting of the Brussels Process in early next year.

5 Dec 2001 : Column: 312W

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the geographical limits of the administrative area of Gibraltar as defined in Article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht. [18898]

Peter Hain: The territory of Gibraltar includes both the Rock and the southern part of the Isthmus connecting the Rock to Spain; UK title is based on both the treaty of Utrecht and continuous possession over a long period of time. The Government are confident of the UK's title to the territory.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when (a) he and (b) one of the Ministers in his Department visited Gibraltar in the last four years and when (i) he and (ii) one of the Ministers in his Department propose to do so. [18899]

Peter Hain: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to pay his first visit as Foreign Secretary to Gibraltar early in 2002. Over the last four years, the following Ministers for Europe have visited Gibraltar:

Dates	Ministers
22–23 July 1999	Joyce Quin
10–11 May 2000	Keith Vaz
6 September 2001	Peter Hain

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment was made at the recent meeting in Barcelona between himself and his Spanish counterpart of the level of cross-border smuggling from Gibraltar. [18897]

Peter Hain: The Spanish Foreign Minister and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did not discuss the issue of cross-border smuggling at the ministerial meeting of the Brussels Process in Barcelona on 20 November.

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, as part of the negotiations with Spain, the Government are discussing giving inhabitants of Gibraltar the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament. [19965]

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts) on 29 November 2001, Official Report, column 1081W.

The decision to extend the European Parliamentary franchise to Gibraltar in this way is for the UK. But, in preparing to take this step we have been in contact with all interested parties, including Spain.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what statement the Spanish Foreign Minister made relating to the ability of EU citizens resident in Gibraltar to vote in European parliamentary elections during his recent meeting with UK Ministers. [20227]

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts) on 29 November 2001, Official Report, column 1081W.

5 Dec 2001 : Column: 313W

At the meeting in Barcelona on 20 November, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Spanish Foreign Minister welcomed progress on a number of issues, including enfranchisement for the purpose of elections to the European Parliament.

EU Arms Exports Embargo

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government are taking to make the EU embargo on arms exports to the Great Lakes Region legally binding. [18907]

Mr. Bradshaw: There is no EU arms embargo for the Great Lakes Region. An EU arms embargo against the Democratic Republic of Congo was announced in a Declaration on 7 April 1993.

International Terrorism

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking within the UN Security Council to establish a tribunal to try for crimes against humanity persons allegedly responsible for preparation and commission of (a) the 11 September attacks in the US and (b) other international terrorist crimes. [19894]

Mr. Bradshaw: International criminal courts are not a substitute for national jurisdictions. Their function is to prosecute perpetrators of crimes for which a relevant national jurisdiction is unable or unwilling to take action. That does not apply in the case of the 11 September attacks. Setting up a new international court or tribunal to try terrorism would cause great delay, not least since there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter to him dated 4 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Mohammad Azam. [20364]

Mr. Bradshaw: I regret that, due to an administrative error, my right hon. Friend has not yet received a reply to his letter of 4 October.

The matter is being checked urgently and a reply will be sent in the next few days.

Missile Technology Control Regime

Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place a copy of the Draft International Code of Conduct, agreed to by members of the Missile Technology Control Regime at their plenary session in Ottawa during September in the Library. [20505]

Mr. Bradshaw: A copy of the draft International Code of Conduct on Ballistic Missiles was placed in the Library of the House on 15 November 2001.

European Union (Public Attitudes)

Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to survey public attitudes to the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [21008]

5 Dec 2001 : Column: 314W

Peter Hain: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office commissioned ICM to conduct opinion research to find out what the British public know about our membership of the European Union, which issues they believe are important, what information they want, and how they want it delivered.

I will place the full results in the Libraries of both Houses on Wednesday 5 December.

Balkans

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in rebuilding the Balkans, with particular reference to the Serbian oil, chemical and motor manufacturing industry. [18197]

Mr. MacShane: The Government together with EU partners are committed to rebuilding and developing the Balkans. Under the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation regulation agreed by the Council of Ministers in December 2000, 4.65 billion euros of EU assistance has been allocated to the region for the period 2001–06.

The Serbian car, oil and chemical sectors have made progress since 1999. We understand that the Zastava car manufacturing plant aims to produce 7,500 vehicles in 2001 and has signed a four year export agreement with Syria. The Pancevo oil refinery now operates at full capacity and may exceed its current plans to refine 2.1 million tonnes of oil in 2001. The re-opening of the Danube to commercial traffic on 29 November 2001, will assist trade development in these commodities and goods from and to Serbia and the surrounding area.

Zimbabwe

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) the progress of the Abuja Agreement in Zimbabwe and (b) the prospects for the elections next year. [18634]

Mr. Bradshaw: We continue to encourage the Government of Zimbabwe to honour the commitments they made in Abuja on 6 September. However, their actions over the past three months show scant regard for these commitments and have seriously undermined the Abuja Agreement.

With Commonwealth, SADC, EU partners and other concerned members of the international community, we continue to encourage the Government of Zimbabwe to create a climate conducive to free and fair elections. It is clear that there have to be significant changes in the arrangements which President Mugabe is in practice willing to put in place for observers to the election process, and the election process itself, if that election is to carry any credibility with the rest of the world and with voters in Zimbabwe.

---