§ 9. Mr. SkinnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with other EU Foreign Ministers about the parts of the Amsterdam agreement that affect his Department. [5734]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Doug Henderson)My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses European Union issues with his EU counterparts.
§ Mr. SkinnerWhat are the criteria for applicant countries wanting to join the European Union—the Common Market really, if we are talking straight? Every currency in the single market is being badgered to meet the criteria available to fit the economic and monetary union single currency, yet applicant countries apparently do not have to satisfy those to get in. Who pays the cost? Is it not true that we—the British taxpayers—are still paying large amounts of money for the German annexation of East Germany? Is it not odd that today we hear that Slovenia is being given a consolation prize—joining the Common Market—because it cannot get into NATO?
§ Mr. HendersonI am grateful to my hon. Friend, who, since the general election, has been building up a reputation for great support for the Government. I am glad that he is continuing that today. May I reassure him that enlargement of the European Community provides a great opportunity on the one hand for better security within Europe and on the other for British exporters to break into a larger market.
A number of criteria will be given prominence by the European Commission when it publishes its assessment of the state of the various countries and their suitability 763 for membership, which I think will be next Wednesday. The Commission will take into account a country's human rights record, the establishment of parliamentary democracy, the extent to which there has already been economic convergence and the possibility of further convergence. Of course, there will be an assessment of costs.
§ Mr. HowardI hope that my right hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Chelsea (Mr. Clark) will not be too upset if I return to the question of human rights. Will the Minister tell us a bit about the human rights provisions of the treaty of Amsterdam? Does he agree that, if a member state is in serious and persistent breach of those provisions, the appropriate action should be to suspend that state from membership or expel it, rather than require it to remain a member and remove its voting rights?
§ Mr. HendersonAs one refugee from the Home Office to another, I welcome the right hon. and learned Gentleman to his new post. I know that he is embarrassed about raising economic, defence and foreign policy issues arising out of Amsterdam. The issue that he has raised is a red herring. European Union countries together stand for human rights. That was endorsed in the Amsterdam treaty and was very much initiated and supported by this Government.