§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanMy right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (Mr Jack Straw) will today lay before Parliament the latest White Paper on Prospects for the EU (Cm 6310). Copies will be placed in the Library of the House and will be available from the Vote Office in the House of 73WS Commons and the Printed Paper Office in the House of Lords. A copy will also be available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk).
This White Paper is a supplement to the one published in April on Prospects for the EU in 2004 (Cm 6174). As well as setting out the issues we expect the Union to address in the rest of the year, it updates readers on developments since April and provides a short breakdown of the achievements of Ireland's EU Presidency, which ran from January to June. It covers the full gamut of EU business, from enlargement—and whether we should start negotiations with Turkey on membership of the Union—to the Lisbon Agenda for economic and social reform—which includes developing the single market, simplifying new and outdated regulation, and increasing employment.
The purpose of this White Paper, and April's, is to keep Parliament and the public informed about developments in the EU, the Government's approach to them and the benefits they will bring to the UK and its citizens.
The next White Paper on prospects for the EU will be published in January 2005, to be followed by a shorter update—along the lines of the one published today—in July 2005.
These White Papers are part of the Government's commitment to make EU business more accessible and interesting for Parliament, the media and members of the public alike by providing an appropriate amount of detail and depth on significant progress that might have an impact on our daily lives. I hope they will play a vital role in involving Parliament more closely in EU affairs, and trust that Members of both Houses will read them. I commend this White Paper to the House.