§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from United Kingdom embassies about the numbers and occasions of visits of heads of Government of other EU countries to(a) Poland, (b) Hungary, (c) the Czech Republic, (d) Slovenia and (e) Estonia since each of these countries submitted their formal applications for membership of the EU. [63561]
§ Ms QuinBritish Embassies in Central Europe keep the FCO regularly informed of significant events in their host countries, including major inward visits. I am listing indicative details of visits made by heads of government of other European Union member states to the five Central European countries currently engaged in accession negotiations. The list for each applicant country covers the period since it formally applied for EU membership. Although careful efforts were made in compiling the lists to include all visits for which the FCO has records, it is possible some visits were made that are not reflected in the materials available to the FCO.
My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary place importance on developing strong bilateral relations between Britain and the countries of Central Europe. Visits at all levels play an important part in fostering these relationships. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has visited seven of the ten Central European countries that have applied for membership. He has met all his opposite numbers and has hosted all but the most recently appointed Central European Foreign Ministers.
602WCzech Republic
Visits by other EU Member state heads of government—since 17 January 1996French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, November 1998Luxembourg Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, August 1997Netherlands Prime Minister, Wim Kok, March 1997German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, January 1997Estonia
Visits by other EU Member state heads of government—since 24 November 1995Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, April 1998Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, February 1998Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, December 1997Finnish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, November 1997Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, April 1996Finnish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, January 1996Hungary
Visits by other EU Member state heads of government—since 31 March 1994Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, May 1998Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Guterres, March 1998Austrian Chancellor, Viktor Klima, March 1997Austrian Chancellor, Franz Vranitzky, October 1996Greek Prime Minister, Costas Simitis, October 1996Austrian Chancellor, Franz Vranitzky, June 1996Austrian Chancellor, Franz Vranitzky, April 1994German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, April 1994Poland
Visits by other EU Member state heads of government—since 5 April 1994German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, November 1998Finnish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, October 1998German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, October 1998Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, March 1998German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, February 1998Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, January 1998Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, March 1997Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, March 1997Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, September 1996Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Guterres, September 1996Austrian Chancellor, Franz Vranitzky, July 1996Austrian Chancellor, Franz Vranitzky, October 1995Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, October 1995German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, July 1995Belgium Prime Minister, Jean-Luc Dehaene, January 1995French Prime Minister, Eduard Balladur, July 1994Slovenia
Visits by other EU Member state heads of government visits—since 10 June 1996Italian Prime Minister, Massimo D'Alema, December 1998Belgian Prime Minister, Jean-Luc Dehaene, June 1998Austrian Chancellor, Viktor Klima, October 1997Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, March 1997