§ 11. Mr. Jim Murphy (Eastwood)If he will make a statement on the UK's future bilateral relationship with the Austrian Government. [108541]
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook)Britain fully supports the position of the 14 European Union countries which have announced that they will not hold bilateral meetings with Ministers in the new Austrian Government. Mr. Haider's appeal to xenophobia and racism is in flat conflict with the values of tolerance and mutual respect on which the European Union is founded. I also fully understand the grave offence to Jewish communities, including here in Britain, of Mr. Haider's statement that the Waffen SS were "decent men of character".
Austria is entitled to exercise its full rights at meetings of the European Union, but, with regret, we cannot maintain our traditionally warm bilateral relationships while its Government includes people who reflect Mr. Haider's repugnant views.
§ Mr. MurphyI welcome that response. Is my right hon. Friend aware of Jörg Haider's description of the concentration camps where 6 million Jews were murdered as "punishment camps"? I also welcome the sanctions taken by the British Government and by our European Union partners against the Austrian Government. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that, if necessary, further action will be taken, not against the Austrian people but against the Austrian coalition Government?
Does my right hon. Friend share my sense of utter horror that, in the same month in which the British Government announced plans for a national holocaust memorial day, Austria formed a coalition involving a party that has an entirely different sense of history and of the holocaust?
§ Mr. CookI was in Stockholm on that day, addressing the holocaust conference, and it was moving to see so many countries of Europe come together to make it clear that we have to be open and honest and face up to our past as a foundation for the future. I regret that Mr. Haider does not seem to recognise the importance of acknowledging what happened in the past if we are to ensure that it does not happen again in the future.
As for our relations with Austria, the Austrian Government have issued a statement of full support for human rights. It is a very good piece of rhetoric and a wonderful statement. We shall now be watching very closely to ensure that they abide by those commitments.
§ Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle)Does the right hon. Gentleman think that he should be disqualified from holding ministerial office now because of the very many foolish things that he said in the past when he was in opposition? Would it not be fairer and more democratic for him to be judged on his current record, disappointing though it has been so far?
§ Mr. CookIf the hon. Gentleman can produce any statement of xenophobia or racism made by me in the past, I shall happily resign.
§ Mr. Ben Bradshaw (Exeter)Has the Foreign Secretary had the chance to study the detailed programme and policies of Jörg Haider's Freedom party? If he has not, may I tell him that they are no more extreme those of the British Conservative party?
§ Mr. CookI have to say that I am not aware of any hon. Member who has spoken of the SS in the terms that Mr. Haider has used. We should recognise that the consensus among the 14 member states has been built in the clear recognition that this is not a matter of political programme, but of values. Mr. Haider has rejected the values on which parliamentary democracy and the European Union are built.
§ Mr. Eric Pickles (Brentwood and Ongar)The Foreign Secretary talks about rhetoric. Does he realise that there is more than a whiff of armchair anti-racism about his attitude towards Mr. Haider who, with the Government's ethical foreign policy in tatters, is an easy target? If he wants to encourage Mr. Haider's policies in Austria, the best way is to continue the isolation.
§ Mr. CookThe polls do not support the hon. Gentleman's argument. Since the European Union's 14 member states took action, Mr. Haider's personal standing has dropped from 8 to 5 per cent. and his party's popularity has also dropped. Our action does not appear to be helping Mr. Haider, as the hon. Gentleman argues.