Committees on Arms ExportsNote: For the completion of the evidence Baroness Ashton’s reply to Mark Prisk’s letter (above) is included below.

Letter from Baroness Ashton, High Representative of the European Union, to Mark Prisk MP, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Dear Minister,

Thank you for your letter. I would like to apologise for the delay in answering you but there have been a few developments on the issue.

In your letter, you suggested that an EU-wide control on the exports of pharmaceuticals used in lethal injections to the US and other countries applying the death penalty through lethal injection should be incorporated into Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005.

I would like to confirm that the Commission has started the process of reviewing the content of the Annexes of Regulation 1236/2005, which is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. Further examination of the need to review the scope of the Regulation will be undertaken shortly.

14 September 2011