§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government are supporting the proposal of the Belgian Government that the European Union accede to the European convention on human rights as a collective entity.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe see no need for the Community, as a collective entity, to accede to the convention when its principles are already applied and observed at all levels within the Community. All the member states are parties to the convention, and the European Court of Justice applies the principles and case law of the convention, as necessary, to cases before it. We do not see that accession by the Community would bring any extra benefit to the individual citizen, and are thus not in favour of a proposal which would have only symbolic value.