§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Williams of Mostyn on 3 September (WA 12), whether they will publish the proceedings of the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on Asylum (CIREA). [HL3303]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)The outcome of proceedings of the CIREA group are contained in Council documents which can be applied for under the Council's Decision 93/731 on Access to Documents. Applications should be made in writing to the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, 175 Rue de la Loi, 1048 Brussels. The Council Secretariat will decide whether the documents may be disclosed, in accordance with the criteria laid down in the Decision. In the event of a refusal, applicants may make a confirmatory application for the document to the Council. The official journal of the European Union published a report of CIREA activities on 23 June 1997 C.191 concerning the period 1994 to 1996. The Government favour disclosure of as great a number of documents as possible.