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Guantanamo Bay

19. Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in securing proper judicial process for the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. [150706]

Mr. Mullin: The focus of the Government's discussions with the United States Administration has been on how to resolve the position of the British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay. All legal proceedings against the British detainees are currently suspended. The Government have made clear to the

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United States our view that any trial procedure the British detainees may face must be fair and meet generally recognised principles.

The position on the Government's discussions with the US remains as the Prime Minister explained to the House on 7 January.

"Talks are continuing on the issue...I hope that we will shortly be able to tell the House how the issue will be handled."

Hamdi Acikgoz

20. Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the application by Mr. Hamdi Acikgoz, in Istanbul, for a visa to visit the United Kingdom. [150707]

Mr. Mullin: As my hon. Friend is aware I cannot disclose details of individual entry clearance cases. I am therefore withholding the information requested under Exemption 5 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I wrote to my hon. Friend about this case on 23 December. I would be happy to discuss it further with him privately.

Occupied Territories

21. Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning restrictions on movement within and into the Occupied Palestinian Territories by (a) Palestinians and (b) foreign nationals; and if he will make a statement. [150708]

Mr. Rammell: We have received a number of representations from MPs, Peers, non-governmental organisations and members of the public concerning restrictions on movement within and into the Occupied Territories for both Palestinians and foreign nationals. Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nabil Sha'ath, also raised his concerns about the impact of the fence, which contributes to curtailed freedom of movement, with the Foreign Secretary on 8 January.

We remain deeply concerned about the consequences for freedom of movement into and within the Occupied Territories for Palestinians and foreign nationals resulting from Israeli actions, including the imposition of curfews and closures, construction of the fence and introduction of access controls, including permits. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to do all it can to ease movement restrictions. We have raised the recently introduced entry regulations with the Israeli government and are exploring with our EU partners further avenues for doing so.

The Netherlands

22. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Dutch Government on prospects for a referendum in the Netherlands on a proposed European Constitution; and if he will make a statement. [150709]

Mr. MacShane: I have regular discussions with my EU counterparts on a wide range of aspects of the IGC. The question of whether to hold a referendum on

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the Constitutional Treaty is a matter for individual governments themselves, according to their constitutional traditions.

As I have made clear in the House before, we have no plans to hold a referendum.

Palestinian Authority

23. David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Palestinian Authority concerning terrorism. [150710]

Mr. Rammell: We regularly discuss the security situation with our contacts at all levels in the Palestinian Authority.

Most recently, my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean discussed the need for the Palestinian Authority to fulfil its roadmap commitments on security, and intensify its efforts to tackle groups and individuals engaging in terrorist activity when she visited the Occupied Territories on 21–23 January.

Burma

24. Mr. Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Burma. [150711]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We remain concerned about the political situation in Burma. Although the Burmese regime's plans for a National Convention are a step forward, the process needs to be inclusive and transparent, involving representatives from the democratic opposition and the ethnic groups. Convention participants must be allowed full freedom of speech, movement and political activity. As a first step Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD colleagues must be fully released and NLD offices re-opened.

Civil Servants

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much space, expressed in square metres, the Department occupies for the offices of civil servants in (a) central London and (b) Greater London. [150287]

Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office occupies a total of 54,558 square metres in central London, and 3,116 square metres in Greater London.

Ethiopia/Eritrea

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the visit by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to Ethiopia and Eritrea. [150112]

Mr. Mullin: I visited Ethiopia and Eritrea from 13 to 19 January. My programme included meetings with President Isaias of Eritrea and Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia. We discussed a range of issues, including the border dispute between the two countries. I stressed the importance of avoiding any return to war, implementing the Boundary Commission decision, and building confidence between the two parties by the establishment of a dialogue.

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European Constitution

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what form minutes were taken of the Intergovernmental Conference on the European Constitution; who took them; to whom they are available; and where they are available. [150196]

Mr. MacShane: No minutes were taken of any meetings during the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), although the Italian presidency published revised Treaty texts following some of the meetings. These are available on the Italian presidency website: www.ueitalia.it The European Council Conclusions issued by the Italian presidency are the only formal statement of progress in the IGC to date.

European Union

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's position is on the United Kingdom's rebate in the context of the negotiations on the EU's multi- annual financial framework; and if he will make a statement. [150781]

Mr. MacShane: Initial discussion of the next financial perspective should begin next month, after the Commission publishes its future financing communication. The current financial perspective expires at the end of 2006, and the Government look forward to the successful negotiation of a new financial perspective, for the period beginning in 2007. The Government believe that the rebate remains fully justified as a fair means of redressing the UK's disproportionate high net contribution to the EC Budget.

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to implement the transitional restrictions which the UK can apply in regard to the nationals of the EU accession countries. [151067]

Mr. MacShane: Under the EU Accession Treaty, nationals of Cyprus and Malta have the same rights to work in another member state as are currently enjoyed by nationals of the existing member states. However, nationals of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia ("the eight relevant states" are subject to transitional provisions.

Under the transitional arrangements, until 30 April 2006 member states are free to apply national measures or bilateral agreements restricting the rights of nationals from the eight relevant states to work in their country. From 1 May 2006, member states must either grant these nationals the right to move freely for the purpose of work in accordance with Community law, or continue to apply national measures or bilateral agreements. Any grant of this right may, however, be subject to suspensions if the member state undergoes or foresees disturbances to its labour market which could seriously threaten the standard of living or level of employment in a particular region or occupation Such suspensions may last, at the latest, until 30 April 2011.

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In line with its announcement of December 2002, the Government intend to grant citizens of the eight relevant states the right to work freely in the UK labour market from 1 May 2004. Section 2 of the EU (Accessions) Act 2003 provides a power to make regulations to give effect to this decision. The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/2326), which currently implement Community law rights of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals to enter and reside in the UK, will be applied to nationals of the eight relevant states as they apply to nationals of the EEA.

From accession the Government will be monitoring the effect of their decision on the UK labour market. In the unexpected event of a large influx of workers to the UK, which seriously threaten the level of employment or standard of living in a particular region or occupation, there are safeguards available to re-impose restrictions on workers. The Government could, in the normal way, re-impose restrictions on some or all of the eight relevant states by repealing or suspending the application of any regulations made under the Act and could exclude nationals of one or more of the eight relevant states from the right to work in the UK under powers contained in the Act.

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