§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what request he has received for assistance towards improving the environment in(a) Poland, (b) Hungary, (c) Czechoslovakia, (d) East Germany and (e) the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TrippierThe Government are receiving a good deal of information from formal and informal sources about the environment in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. We provided experts for two fact-finding missions to Poland and Hungary earlier this year. We are working actively through the G24 process—in which we are playing a leading part—and other appropriate multilateral and bilateral mechanisms to promote the adoption of environmentally sustainable policies within Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and the Soviet Union. Our overriding concern is to ensure that assistance for tackling the wide range of complex environmental problems involved should be based on sound science and a knowledge of the different priorities within each country.