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22 Oct 2009 : Column 1614W—continued

Embassies: EU Countries

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what revenue was received at British Embassies from Overseas Passport fees in each country of the European Union in each of the last five years. [294172]

Chris Bryant: The following table lists the revenue received at our Missions from Overseas Passport fees in each country of the EU in each of the last five years, pro-rated based on accession dates.

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22 Oct 2009 : Column 1616W

£
Country	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	Grand total
Austria	37,757	69,567	89,472	123,835	94,071	414,702
Belgium	252,721	257,358	304,304	389,535	34	1,203,952
Bulgaria	0	0	0	5,000	13,661	18,661
Cyprus	321,090	390,832	520,032	600,710	681,560	2,514,224
Czech Republic	40,226	51,840	72,170	80,215	68,429	312,880
Denmark	101,149	123,332	143,663	184,147	173,646	725,937
Estonia	3,057	3,117	5,038	5,460	4,387	21,059
Finland	22,173	21,348	35,768	46,505	42,736	168,530
France	821,553	1,136,118	1,616,805	2,061,027	2,706,459	8,341,962
Germany	935,027	957,092	1,383,448	1,683,959	1,654,141	6,613,667
Greece	138,361	167,218	243,614	288,525	285,333	1,123,051
Holland	323,717	404,678	490,141	608,304	322,955	2,149,795
Hungary	25,545	31,155	37,740	49,399	50,027	193,866
Ireland	614,002	644,937	880,563	1,057,212	1,055,696	4,252,410
Italy	268,705	333,745	409,181	491,835	454,298	1,957,764
Latvia	1,968	3,503	4,717	5,481	5,402	21,071
Luxembourg	42,292	343	548	407	117	43,707
Lithuania	892	2,633	2,249	4,170	2,905	12,849
Malta	42,204	57,117	75,004	85,796	97,130	357,251
Poland	28,020	40,549	41,288	57,431	52,624	219,912
Portugal	147,115	155,024	199,414	176,044	9,488	687,085
Romania	0	0	0	6,071	23,523	29,594
Slovakia	3,878	6,862	10,120	11,368	9,377	41,605
Slovenia	2,058	1,421	3,602	4,479	3,710	15,270
Spain	1,148,209	1,450,790	1,986,662	2,663,752	2,539,259	9,788,672
Sweden	100,120	125,729	178,371	206,218	199,432	809,870
Grand total	5,421,839	6,436,308	8,733,914	10,896,885	10,550,400	42,039,345

EU Institutions

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for institutional changes in the European Union. [294000]

Chris Bryant: The Swedish EU presidency wants to see the Lisbon treaty enter into force as soon as possible, to bring into effect the treaty's institutional reforms which will improve EU decision-making, transparency and accountability, and the effectiveness of EU action around the world. This is a priority that the UK shares.

Following the Irish referendum endorsement of the Lisbon treaty on 2 October 2009 and signature of the Polish instrument of ratification by President Kaczynski on 10 October 2009, 26 member states have now completed their national processes to ratify the treaty. We hope that the Czech ratification will follow shortly.

EU Law

Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which powers ceded to EU level under the Treaty establishing the European Communities and the Treaty on European Union have subsequently been returned to the UK under the principle of subsidiarity. [293798]

Chris Bryant: The principle of subsidiarity is not a mechanism for "returning powers" to the member states, but for determining whether or not Community action should be set in motion.

The member states, through the EU treaties, set the EU certain tasks and give it the powers to achieve those tasks. Article 5 of the treaty establishing the European Community states that, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Community shall take action, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Community.

Further guidelines for assessing whether these requirements are met are laid down by the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The Protocol also requires the Commission to justify the relevance of any of its legislative proposals with regard to the principle of subsidiarity.

The Lisbon treaty would strengthen the role of national Parliaments in EU decision-making, so that for the first time national parliaments could challenge draft EU legislation on subsidiarity grounds. It is for Parliament to decide how to exercise its rights under these procedures.

EU: Financial Institutions

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the General Affairs Council on the Swedish presidency's agenda for banking and financial regulation and shareholding in the EU. [294363]

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed the European Commission's proposals on financial regulation and supervision with his counterparts at the General Affairs Council (GAC) of 27 July 2009 and 14 September 2009. EU member states are agreed on the necessity of making swift progress on the package, with a view to reaching agreement by the December European Council under the EU Swedish presidency.

The GAC has not discussed the EU Shareholder Rights Directive.

European Union: Reform

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Czech Government on prospects for constitutional reform in the EU. [294699]

Chris Bryant: I have recently discussed EU institutional issues with my Czech counterpart as part of my introductory contacts with my EU colleagues on issues of mutual interest.

22 Oct 2009 : Column 1617W

France: Industrial Disputes

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of France on the cost to British businesses and tourists of blockades of Channel ports. [293876]

Chris Bryant: Our embassy in Paris and our consulate in Lille have both raised issues relating to the blockades with the French authorities.

The Minister of State, Department for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan), also raised concerns with his French counterpart during the blockade.

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