Results 1-20 of 1,699 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Mark Francois
- Cyprus (10 Nov 2009)
Mark Francois: Since the Turkish invasion in 1974, there have been a range of complex issues on the island. One confidence-building measure that encouraged both sides was the opening of the Ledra street crossing in Nicosia. Both sides acknowledged that as a positive development. Does the Minister agree that the opening of other crossings, particularly in the near future, would build confidence on both sides...
- Cyprus (10 Nov 2009)
Mark Francois: It is a pleasure, Mr. Williams, to serve under your chairmanship today. I must begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on securing this important debate on Cyprus. It is right that we should devote time to this subject today, so that we can discuss it at Westminster in some detail. The hon. Gentleman went into considerable detail in framing the debate. We have also...
- Nato: Palestine (20 Oct 2009)
Mark Francois: When the UN Human Rights Council voted to endorse the Goldstone report on the conflict in Gaza, the text of the motion made no reference at all to Hamas, despite the fact that it was heavily criticised in the report itself. Given that the motion was so clearly unbalanced, therefore, does the Secretary of State agree that the Government should have voted against it, as the United States did,...
- [Mr. Gary Streeter in the Chair] — UK Relations with Russia (14 Oct 2009)
Mark Francois: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Streeter. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands) on securing this debate, which he introduced very thoroughly. The subject is important and timely, given US Secretary of State Clinton's visit to Russia only yesterday. I welcome the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) to his new...
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: Will the hon. Gentleman assure us that in those meetings Her Majesty's Government will raise the important issue of Spanish vessels making incursions into Gibraltar's territorial waters?
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: Will the Minister give way?
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Martlew. I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) on securing this important debate. He criticised the possible appointment of Tony Blair as President of the EU, and I will certainly want to return to that theme. I commend my hon. Friend for his assiduous membership of a number of...
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: I have a lot to say, but I will give way.
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: My hon. Friend's point is well made. It remains the Conservative party's position that we support, in principle, Turkish membership of the European Union. He is right to raise the prospect of some frustration in Turkey about what I think people there perceive as problems being put in their way by certain other countries in the European Union. We run the risk that if those problems pertain for...
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: I am sorry, Mr. Martlew, I appear to be enthusing my hon. Friends that bit too much. Nevertheless, the Liberal Democrats have tried to wriggle out of their promise. They tried to make the same case on the Lisbon treaty in the European elections, and they were ritually slaughtered for their trouble, so we will take no lectures from them about the treaty. Tony Blair's possible candidature was...
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: How would the hon. Gentleman characterise the Liberal Democrats' relationship with Washington?
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: The hon. Gentleman is incorrect: there are eight.
- European Union (21 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: What about the other three?
- [Mr. Christopher Chope in the Chair] — Human Rights (Iran) (8 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Chope. I congratulate the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik) on securing this important debate. Hon. Members might not know this, but last century, he and I were at Bristol university together: he was the chairman of the student union and I was the chairman of the Conservative association, and we had many lively debates....
- [Mr. Christopher Chope in the Chair] — Human Rights (Iran) (8 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for those kind words; I shall mull them over and decide whether to forgive him. I also welcome the Minister to his place. We were sparring partners when he was in the Treasury and I was a shadow Treasury spokesman, and I look forward to sparring with him now. I hope that he will enjoy some security of tenure, at least for a few months, in the Foreign...
- [Mr. Eric Illsley in the Chair] — European Commission Annual Policy Strategy (2 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: As a courtesy, I want to say that it was very kind of the Minister to refer to me as "perfectly formed". I am grateful.
- [Mr. Eric Illsley in the Chair] — European Commission Annual Policy Strategy (2 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: I appreciate that the impact of the CAP in different EU countries is perceived in different ways. Nevertheless, as I intimated earlier, when the former Prime Minister came back from the negotiations in 2005, having given up £7 billion of British taxpayers' money, he told Parliament that he had done so in return for further reform of the CAP. Where is the reform that we were promised?
- [Mr. Eric Illsley in the Chair] — European Commission Annual Policy Strategy (2 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: The Under-Secretary talks about further reform, but there has been very little reform of the CAP since 2005. Is he seriously saying that the CAP health check represents real significant reform and that it is worth £7 billion of British taxpayers' money? If that is the argument he is making, I just want to be clear about it because there are many people who would not agree with him.
- [Mr. Eric Illsley in the Chair] — European Commission Annual Policy Strategy (2 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: rose—
- [Mr. Eric Illsley in the Chair] — European Commission Annual Policy Strategy (2 Jul 2009)
Mark Francois: If you are happy to allow a double intervention, Mr. Illsley, then it is down to the Minister. Forgive me, but I do not want the Minister in any way, perhaps inadvertently, to misrepresent me. The point that I was making was that if additional safeguards are to be allowed for the people of Germany and the German Parliament, I believe that similar safeguards should at least be on offer to the...