European Charter of Fundamental Rights (Hansard, 23 October 2000)

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy towards the development of a charter of fundamental rights. [134204]

§ Mr. Vaz
The Government strongly support the Charter. People need to know their rights, and the EU Institutions need to respect them. The Conclusions of the June 1999 Cologne European Council set out the rationale for the Charter. It has two main benefits: it sets out fundamental rights and principles that the EU Institutions should respect when going about their daily business, and promotes their visibility and accessibility.

§ Mr. Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place the provisional text of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Library. [134172]

§ Mr. Vaz
The draft text submitted to the Biarritz European Council was placed in the Libraries of both Houses earlier this month.