§ 13. Mrs. Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton)What assessment he has made of the current state of relations between the UK and Poland; and if he will make a statement. [117179]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Keith Vaz)Our relations with Poland are excellent. We maintain a strong political dialogue, and Poland is one of our most important trading partners in central and eastern Europe. We warmly welcomed Poland's membership of NATO in March 1999, and we continue actively to support Poland's application to join the European Union. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Minister met Poland's Foreign Minister Geremek in February. The weekend before last, in London, I met the Polish Minister for European Affairs, Andrzei Ananicz.
§ Mrs. GilroyI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. He will no doubt be pleased but not surprised to learn that, on my visit to Poland in January—when I went to the Deblin Royal Air Force academy and later had the pleasure of attending the RAF ball in Warsaw—there was no sign whatever of the attitude alluded to earlier by the Opposition Front-Bench spokesman, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude).
However, does my hon. Friend recollect Poland's chief negotiator saying that the last thing Europe needs is a pick-and-choose community? Is not it clear that the applicant countries want to join the European Union because of what the EU has achieved and because of its aspirations? Is not it equally clear that those countries will have little time for any British Government who seek to undermine those achievements?
§ Mr. VazI am glad that my hon. Friend was able to visit Poland in January. My first visit as Minister for Europe was to Poland, although no one invited me to the ball—perhaps my shoes did not fit.
My hon. Friend is right to point out that Poland wants to be a first-class country in the European Union. We do not favour a two-tier EU. That is why we fully support Poland's ambition to join the EU. It is making excellent progress. When I spoke to Mr. Ananicz a fortnight ago, he said that the negotiations were going well. Of course, the most important element for Poland, the chapter on agriculture, has not yet been opened. Poland has 182 ambitious targets to join and we have made it clear that we shall support it. We support 10 twinning arrangements in Poland, and we also provide funds through the know-how fund, which we shall continue to do.
The twinning arrangement between Gdynia and my hon. Friend's constituency is very important. We would like to see such arrangements extended to other constituencies and cities in the United Kingdom.
§ Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)Does the Minister share my concern that Poland will be on target to join the EU by 2004? He referred to extra work being needed in terms of agricultural reforms, and I draw his attention to the fact that law and environmental protection need further work. How much technical assistance are the Government prepared to provide to help Poland achieve its target date?
§ Mr. VazAs the hon. Lady knows, Poland has set its own target date. That cannot be achieved until the intergovernmental conference is completed by the end of this year and is ratified in the various national Parliaments. We do not want to discourage Poland; we want to encourage it. It is important that the applicant countries know that they have the support of countries such as the United Kingdom.
When I was in Poland, we launched a number of schemes. We have extended our twinning programme and, as I have said, the know-how fund provides assistance. I have said to Foreign Minister Ananicz, and my right hon. Friend has said to Foreign Minister Geremek, that if we can help in any way, we will stand ready to help. We want Poland to be part of an enlarged Europe. It will give us a single market of 500 million people. Poland is already a member of NATO, and we want it in the European Union. We are Poland's best friend in Europe.