§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral statement by the Minister of State of 4 December 1997,Official Report, column 567, what was the nature of the mix-up at Amsterdam over the Schengen opt-in, and at what time the attempt was made to challenge the matter which was not accepted by the presidency. [26047]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonI refer the hon. Member to previous statements on this matter, in particular my right hon. Friend and the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 25 November 1997,Official Report, column 753, and the reply I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) on 12 December 1997, Official Report, column 711.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) of 12 December 1997,Official Report, column 710, when he first became aware that a bilateral agreement had taken place between Spain and the Dutch presidency pertaining to the Schengen Agreement that had resulted in an agreement on opt-in voting procedures; at what stage in the proceedings that agreement was alleged to have taken place; and what representations he made on the subject. [26045]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonI refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe on all three points on 2 December 1997,Official Report, columns 122–23.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 21 January 1998,Official Report, column 540, on the Schengen Agreement, if he will list the occasions on which the voting procedures were raised with European counterparts. [26080]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I raised the question of the voting procedures in Article 4 of the Schengen Protocol with Dutch Minister on three occasions. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also raised it with the Irish Foreign Minister. It was discussed on 27 June in the Friends of the Presidency Group, whose remit was to follow up any outstanding matters relating to the Treaty text after the Amsterdam summit and subsequently four times at Coreper. UK officials also had numerous contacts with the Presidency, other Member States and the Council Secretariat about this question, from the moment that we first became aware of the change to the text until the matter was resolved.
440W
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 21 January 1998,Official Report, column 540, when the presidency of the European Council launched an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the negotiations at Amsterdam relating to the voting procedures used in the admission of opt-out states to the Schengen Area; who contributed to these investigations; what documentary evidence was submitted; and what discussions of the matter he held with ministers of other member states. [26046]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonIt is for the Government of the Netherlands to say by what means they arrived at their own conclusions on this matter. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the matter with his Dutch opposite number in the margins of the G8 summit at Denver (20–22 June) and with the Dutch Minister for Europe and his Irish opposite number on 22 July.