§ 13. Dr. Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test)If he will make a statement on recent bilateral contacts with Estonia. [129552]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Keith Vaz)Bilateral contacts with Estonia are in excellent shape. In July 1999, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Tallinn on the occasion of the formal opening of the new British embassy building and held talks with senior members of the Estonian Government. President Meri called on my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary during his visit to the UK in March this year. I plan to visit Estonia in the autumn.
§ Dr. WhiteheadI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Does he accept that the passing of language laws in Estonia on 14 June was a genuine step forward in the protection of minorities there? Will he assure me that as enlargement takes place in the EU, applicant states will be closely monitored on their dealings with minorities and on good governance?
§ Mr. VazI agree that the passing of that law was extremely important. I assure my hon. Friend that, working through the High Commissioner for Ethnic Minorities at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, we are doing our best to monitor the situation. Estonia is doing extremely well in its application to join the European Union and has opened 29 of the 31 chapters of the acquis, having closed 13 of them. Relations with our country are excellent and I believe that there is even an Estonian football player who plays for Derby County.
§ Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset)I am sure that the Minister will acknowledge that Estonia is close to being ready for accession, as are a number of states. Can he tell the House when he expects accession to take place, as all the applicant countries keep telling us that they are getting extremely frustrated at the way in which Europe is holding them back?
§ Mr. VazAs I told the House earlier, it is not for the European Union to set admission dates for applicant countries. It is for us to get our house in order, which the Foreign Secretary says we will have done with the conclusion of the IGC by the end of this year. We obviously want Estonia to join as quickly as possible, but it must set its own timetables and will only join once we have completed institutional reform. It will set its own timetables, and we want to see it in as quickly as possible.