HC Deb 02 June 1997 vol 295 cc83-5W
Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will, in co-operation with other departments, provide a cost assessment for implementing articles 118 and 119 of the draft Amsterdam treaty. [1719]

Mr. Doug Henderson

Article 118 and 119 of the draft IGC treaty would not have any direct cost implications in themselves. It is clearly not possible to assess now the cost of legislation which may be brought forward under these articles in the future. But the Government will assess carefully all future proposals for legislation, taking fully into account their likely cost both to industry and to the taxpayer.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the relationship is between article B of the draft Amsterdam treaty and the Schengen Protocol in the same draft. [1734]

Mr. Henderson

Currently the relationship between draft Article B and the draft Schengen Protocol is unclear. The matter remains under discussion at the Inter-Governmental Conference.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what would be the effect of the application of article Fa in the draft Amsterdam treaty to a state refusing to comply with treaty law. [1726]

Mr. Henderson

Draft Article Fa would provide a mechanism for determining whether sanctions could be imposed on a member State. It would be for the Council to determine whether a refusal to comply with Treaty law merited sanctions and if so what sanctions would be appropriate. The draft article is still under discussion at the Intergovernmental Conference.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, under article F in the draft Amsterdam treaty, the European Union could undertake further acts of European integration without the need for further treaties. [1724]

Mr. Henderson

The Presidency's draft revised article F would emphasise the principle that the European Union is founded on, and should respect, fundamental rights. The revised article F, like the current text of the article, confers no power to adopt legislation or other measures. It could therefore not be a basis for "further acts of European Integration".

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on article 113(5) of the draft Amsterdam treaty. [1714]

Mr. Henderson

The Government do not support the proposed amendments to article 113 as currently drafted. We shall be participating fully in discussions in the Intergovernmental Conference and seeking amendments which meet our concerns.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the areas of policy-making which the draft Amsterdam treaty would change from being subject to unanimity to being subject to a qualified majority vote in the Council of Ministers. [1738]

Mr. Henderson

The document, circulated by the Dutch Presidency on 16 May, makes no recommendations on which areas of policy making might move from unanimity to qualified majority vote. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will, in co-operation with other departments, provide a cost assessment for the United Kingdom of applying the common concern principle in the Title on Employment as set out in the draft Amsterdam treaty; and what assessment he has made of the effect on inward investment to the United Kingdom of applying that principle. [1720]

Mr. Henderson

Negotiations on the draft Employment Title are continuing. The Government's assessment is that including in the title the idea that Member States shall regard their employment policies as a matter of "common concern" would not have significant cost implications nor any impact on inward investment in the UK.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Amsterdam treaty proposals concerning European Union peacemaking. [1713]

Mr. Henderson

We support proposals for the incorporation into the treaty on European Union of "humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking" as issues covered by the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy. These tasks would continue to be carried out by the Western European Union, which formulated and agreed them in 1992 as part of that organisations' implementation of its role agreed at Maastricht in 1991.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, according to the draft Amsterdam treaty, British diplomats will act under British or European Union instructions in the event of a conflict of interests under article J. [1735]

Mr. Henderson

British diplomats will continue to represent British interests at all times and will act under instructions from the British Government.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what would be the effect of the application of article Fa in the draft Amsterdam treaty to a state declining to apply a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. [1733]

Mr. Henderson

Draft Article Fa would provide a mechanism for determining whether sanctions could be imposed on a Member State. It would be for the Council to determine whether a refusal to apply a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights merited sanctions and if so, what sanctions would be appropriate. The draft article is still under discussion at the Intergovernmental Conference.

Sir Richard Body

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on article J.13 of the draft Amsterdam treaty and the circumstances in which a member state could be overruled when a common foreign policy position is being sought. [1715]

Mr. Henderson

Article J.13 of the draft Treaty is the subject of current negotiation in the Intergovernmental Conference. The Government does not foresee circumstances in which a Member State could be overruled against its wishes.