§ 18. Sir Russell JohnstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next attend a meeting of the European Council of Ministers.
§ Mr. LangI am ready to attend a meeting of the Council of Ministers whenever the circumstances require it.
§ Sir Russell JohnstonIt would be interesting to know how often in recent times the circumstances have required it—quite often, I should have thought. Is the Secretary of State aware that all the German Lander and many of the regions of France and Spain maintain separate offices in Brussels? Does he agree that that is to their advantage? Why does not the Scottish Office do likewise?
§ Mr. LangAs the hon. Gentleman probably knows, comparisons between Scotland, as part of the United Kingdom, and the Länder of Germany are irrelevant and spurious. In the European Community, Scotland's interests are very well represented through the United Kingdom's representative organisations. The hon. Gentleman may like to know that since 1979 Scotland has derived no less than £1.3 billion of benefits under various European schemes. That is six times as much as Denmark has received.