§ 17. Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)When he expects to meet other EU Foreign Ministers to discuss enlargement. [61396]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Ms Joyce Quin)My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I will attend the General Affairs Council in Brussels next Monday, which will discuss enlargement.
§ Mr. SkinnerNow that Germany is beginning to throw its weight around again, does it not worry my right hon. Friend the Minister, and other Ministers on the Treasury Bench, that some of the countries that are due to become applicants for the Common Market could be little more than satellites of Germany, based upon the fact that, geographically and in trading and economic terms, they are much nearer to Germany than to Britain?
There has been a position that has been long held—it was evinced by Mrs. Thatcher—that more countries joining the Common Market would result in its weakness. There is a possibility, now that the position is changing on the continent, that the opposite could be the case. The net result for our Chancellor of the Exchequer—whom we want to use his veto on any harmonisation of tax plans—could be that more qualified majority voting is the order of the day because of those satellite countries.
§ Ms QuinHaving talked with many of my counterparts in the countries that are applying to join the EU, I am conscious that they are proud that they now have their independence and that they are in an era that is different from the domination that they had to endure during the 672 cold war. They are not keen to become satellites of any country, but they are keen to participate in the European Union of the future.
My hon. Friend mentioned trade, which is an important aspect. Germany is probably the country that does most trade with those countries, but I am keen for Britain to improve its trade—both exports and imports—with them. It is important for us to work closely with them in the years ahead leading up to the enlargement of the EU.
§ Mr. Patrick Nicholls (Teignbridge)Can the Minister say what effect enlargement will have on the work reported in this week's edition of The Week, which says that "valuable progress" has been made in regard to tax competition? It especially commends the work of the committee chaired by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, which has been considering measures to bring about "tax levels significantly lower" than those applying in other countries.
§ Ms QuinI, too, pay tribute to the work of the committee chaired by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary, especially its efforts to tackle the tax evasion and competition that damage industry and chances of employment. I also applaud my hon. Friend's work in respect of the code of conduct, and on the way in which she has chaired the committee.
§ Mr. Robert N. Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby)Will next week's discussions include Cyprus's application to join the European Union? What has been the attitude of the Foreign Secretary's counterpart in the EU to that application, given that the Turkish Cypriots do not wish to take part in the negotiations?
§ Ms QuinThe position on Cyprus is as outlined in a recent debate in the House. The Government feel strongly that the application should be supported and that it should be seen as an important catalyst in the efforts to bring about reunification of the island and a settlement of its problems. We believe that that view is shared throughout the European Union. We want to make progress with the application, while at the same time promoting efforts—including those of the United Nations—to bring about reunification in a way that will give both the Turkish and the Greek Cypriot communities a sense of security and financial and economic prosperity for the future.
§ Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)The Minister has emphasised the importance of trade with the applicant countries. Does she share my concern about rumours currently circulating in Brussels that the Czechs, Hungarians and Poles will unilaterally operate outside the Europe agreement, reject preferential rates of duty on exports of pigmeat from the European Union and apply the higher rate of duty within the World Trade Organisation? Will the Government take action in European circles to quash such moves?
§ Ms QuinI am always reluctant to respond to rumours, but there are many ways in which those issues can be discussed with the applicant countries. We meet them regularly, and when we do so we discuss a range of trading issues with the aim of achieving a fair balance between the interests of the European Union and the very real interests of the applicant countries.