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David Heath: In my brief experience of the House, I have noticed that the only thing that stops foreign affairs debates being timetabled for Friday mornings is if the House is not sitting. In that case, they are held on Thursday evenings, but it would be a pleasure at some time in the future to attend a foreign affairs debate in parliamentary prime time. Nevertheless, we have had a valuable debate with...
Dr Jenny Tonge: Does the Secretary of State think that—despite the Prime Minister's speech at the North Atlantic Assembly and talks with the French a few days ago at St. Malo—there should have been some mention of the matter in the defence review, so that hon. Members could have debated the overall issue of European foreign policy and defence? Is it not time that that policy was debated in the House...
David Heath: In welcoming the promise of a statement on the outcome of the Vienna Council, may I bring the Leader of the House back to the assurance that she thought she had given last week, but had not because it was given on the wrong premise? Will she consider a debate in Government time on common foreign and security policy? Will she urge the Prime Minister to contribute to that debate? We did not...
Tony Blair: With permission, Madam Speaker, I will make a statement about the meeting of the European Council on 11 and 12 December which I attended in Vienna along with my right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West (Ms Quin). The Council...
Ms Joyce Quin: I understand that much of that information is already available. I see hon. Members agreeing. Certainly, there have been accounts of the various measures that are under consideration. I commend the work done by my hon. Friend in leading the work of that group. Furthermore, in considering openness, I want to underline what I said a few minutes ago. Having been present at the first-ever open...
Crispin Blunt: The Secretary of State is in danger of confusing me. At one moment, he is trying to downplay the significance of the development, talking about it as merely wiring diagrams, but he told the Select Committee on Defence that the importance of the St. Malo agreement could not be understated. If I understand it correctly, it represents the most fundamental shift in British defence policy for...
Tony Blair: With permission, I will make a statement on the NATO summit in Washington on 23 to 25 April. I was accompanied by the Foreign and Defence Secretaries and the Chief of the Defence Staff. Copies of the Washington declaration, the alliance's new strategic concept, the summit communiqué, our separate statement on Kosovo and other summit documents are being placed in the Library of the House....
Keith Simpson: My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Ministry of Defence is getting increasingly desperate about disposing of lands and properties, many of which are difficult to dispose of on the open market. I remind the House that, in a written answer to me on 4 March, the Ministry of Defence said that 85.9 per cent. of the Army's Land Command had been committed to deployment on operations, or warned...
John Maples: No doubt when the Balkan conflict is over, the Secretary of State will wish to examine how we and our allies respond to future conflicts. Yesterday, Mr. Prodi suggested that the European Union should have an army, and the Government apparently immediately rejected that call. However, is not Mr. Prodi's call wholly consistent with Government policy, especially paragraph 3 of the St. Malo...
Tony Lloyd: ...is particularly significant. All partners are pulling their weight in Kosovo, and, in the future, that co-operation within Europe will become closer and tighter. What was begun by our Prime Minister and President Chirac at St. Malo has been extended to include the rest of the European Union, and, potentially, those who are willing players throughout the European continent.
Robin Cook: .... The terms in which it is drafted make it plain that the measure will not be imposed by the national Government, far less by the national Governments of Europe meeting in the Council of Ministers. To turn to the last of the three areas in which Cologne will mark a step towards our objectives for Europe, there will be further progress towards achieving strength in the world for the...
John Maples: I will come to the United States position, but it is not supporting that idea. It supports the development of the European security and defence identity within NATO. It makes that clear again and again. What was agreed at Cologne breaches the principles that Madeleine Albright set out in her Financial Times article about decoupling, discrimination and duplication. When one talks to American...
Mr George Robertson: ...European Union's common foreign and security policy, including the progressive framing of a common defence policy. That built on agreement at the NATO Washington summit, which itself had originally stemmed from the Anglo-French St. Malo declaration in December last year. Our intention is to strengthen the European capability to contribute to security within the framework of the Atlantic...
Robin Cook: What has happened since Amsterdam is that over the past year, along with the French and our other partners in Europe, we have proceeded on the basis of our St. Malo declaration. As a result, we have a new communiqué from NATO which expands on the Berlin declaration, carried by the last Government. That enhances our ability to call on NATO's assets for the purpose of European security...
Richard Ottaway: I am grateful to the Minister for that. However, he has twice said that troops will "begin" to come back; that does not imply that they are coming back. Perhaps Ministers can confirm that we have received assurances from other nations that they will make up the shortfall. No sooner do we receive indications that the overstretch pressures are being relieved than the Foreign Secretary—with...
Ms Joyce Quin: The Finnish Government, and the Finnish presidency, are keen to work towards strengthening the common foreign and security policy that was the basis of last year's St. Malo initiative. We are working with the Finns and other nations to find the best way to move forward institutionally, but we all agree that practical results are important. The European Union nations, in co-operation with the...
My Government launched an historic initiative at the Franco-British St. Malo Summit. This will make the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy more effective and will revitalise the Atlantic Alliance.
Lord Chalfont: My Lords, before making my contribution to the debate, it is my pleasure and privilege to congratulate the right reverend Prelate on his moving and distinguished maiden speech. It was even more impressive because of its brevity. Those of us who are familiar with the writings of the right reverend Prelate--notably a publication some 20 years ago entitled, God's People in God's World--will not...
John Maples: ...away in answers to his hon. Friend the Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd). He said: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and the Metropolitan Police discussed the proposed programme for the State Visit and the concerns of the Chinese authorities about the possible impact of demonstrations on the visit."—[Official Report, 28 October 1999; Vol. 336, c. 993W.] It appears from the...
Robin Cook: My hon. Friend puts his finger on the second big problem in the Conservative strategy. Someday, those dozen countries will be full members of the European Union. It is in Britain's interests that they should remember us as an ally and as an advocate of their membership. The Conservative strategy would leave the next generation of new members resenting Britain as a country that tried to block...