§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will represent the United Kingdom at the official opening of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia on 7 and 8 April in Vienna. [116955]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe United Kingdom will be represented at the official opening of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia on 7-8 April in Vienna by either a Minister or a senior official (yet to be finalised) from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and by the Director of Constitutional and Community Policy from the Home Office.
This Government remain committed to the work undertaken by the Centre. The event in Vienna marks the official opening of the Centre, but in fact it has been in existence for over a year now. The Centre is supported 215W financially by the European Commission; the Home Office provided £48,000 to cover the running costs of the Centre's United Kingdom Secretariat during 1999–2000.