§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons he visited the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland; and what assessment he has made of the time scale for the admission to EU membership of(a) the Czech Republic, (b) Hungary, (c) Poland, (d) Slovenia, (e) Cyprus and (f) Estonia. [18031]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Central Europe as part of the UK's continuing close bilateral relationship with the countries of that region (it is our fastest growing export market). He also set out our strong support for EU and NATO enlargement. Looking ahead to our EU presidency, he made it clear that we want the Luxembourg European Council to take the decisions necessary to allow accession negotiations to begin as early as possible next year.
Negotiations will be conducted on an individual basis with each candidate. Progress will depend on each applicant's preparations for membership. So it would be misleading to set any firm deadlines for accession.