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Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): There are no current plans to re-publish The Treatment of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, also known as the blue book, of 1916.
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The Treaty of Amsterdam changes the role of the institutions in a number of ways. The European Parliament's role as co-legislator in some areas of Community legislation is strengthened by the extension of co-decision to eight new treaty articles and 15 existing ones. The EP's assent is needed before sanctions are imposed on a member state under new Article 7 TEU. The EP is also given a right to approve the nomination by member states of the Commission President, as well as of other members of the Commission.
The Council is given a new, but restricted, power to conclude international agreements in the fields of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Justice and Home Affairs.
The Commission is given a right of initiative in relation to police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. The Commission President is given an equal say with member states in the selection of other Commissioners and a role in exercising political guidance over the work of the Commission as a whole.
The European Court of Justice is given a new but limited role in relation to the third pillar under new Article 35 TEU.
The Court of Auditors is given a right of recourse to the ECJ to protect its prerogatives. Its right to audit the handling of EU funds by intermediaries and final
recipients is clarified; and its right to audit Community expenditure and revenue managed by the European Investment Bank is given a clear legal base.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: This is a question that should be addressed to the Government of the United States.
At the 50th anniversary summit in Washington on 23-24 April, NATO leaders agreed that it is our aim to make stability in south-east Europe a priority of our transatlantic agenda. Our governments will co-operate urgently through NATO as well as through the OSCE, and for those of us which are members, the European Union, to support the nations of south-east Europe in forging a better future for their region--one based upon democracy, justice, economic integration, and security co-operation.
Lord McNair asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The way to achieve an examination is for the Sudan to become a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. This is supported by a verification regime which allows for on-site inspections.
Lord McNair asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: It is established practice under Section 1(c) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information not to disclose or discuss information received in confidence from foreign governments.
Lord McNair asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: No.
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: There is no evidence that the Army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) has entered Croatian sovereign territory. However, the United Nations has reported that, on 20 April, between 20 and 30 Serb soldiers entered the demilitarised zone in Prevlaka adjacent to Croatia in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1222.
We have concluded that these soldiers were investigating the recently opened crossing point on the border between Croatia and Montenegro. The President of the Security Council announced on 27 April that Serb forces have now begun to withdraw from the demilitarised zone.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We cannot comment on the policies of the United States Government in their dealings with the Government of North Korea.
We and our allies continue to discourage the development of ballistic missile related technology as such activity is not in the interests of regional or international security.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The fact that the United States and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a forum to discuss means of enhancing Israel's defence capabilities is a matter of public record. Under Article I of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, nuclear weapon states party to the treaty undertake not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices directly or indirectly; and not in any way to assist, encourage or induce any non-nuclear weapon state to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices. We have been assured by the Government of the United States that there is no inconsistency between the memorandum and US obligations under Article I of the NPT.
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We have consistently urged the Turkish authorities to address the social and economic problems of south-east Turkey and the aspirations of the Kurdish community there, if lasting peace is to return to the region.
We do not believe there are simple comparisons to be drawn between the situation in Kosovo and other situations such as that in south-east Turkey.
Lord Willoughby de Broke asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We believe, as do our European Union partners, that continued dialogue and co-operation with China on human rights are more likely to bring about practical improvement than repeated UN resolutions, all of which have failed to be adopted in the past. This dialogue-based approach
has made limited progress in some areas and we will be pressing China for further improvements. The General Affairs Council therefore decided on 22 March not to table or co-sponsor a resolution on China at this year's Commission on Human Rights.
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