§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his discussions with EEC Governments about their voting intentions at the United Nations on the issue of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
§ Mr. OnslowWe lost no opportunity to make our views on the draft resolution clear to our partners in the European Community. At the time of the vote, other Community Governments abstained on the Latin American draft resolution, except Greece which voted in favour. The resolution does not in fact deal directly with sovereignty but calls for negotiations on the sovereignty dispute. We have made it abundantly clear why this resolution is unacceptable and the number of negative votes and abstentions shows the considerable sympathy for our position in the international community.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet Senor Alejandro Orfila, General Secretary of the Organisation of American States, to discuss the Falklands/Malvinas.
§ Mr. OnslowI have no present plans to do so.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied that the garrisoning of the Falklands by over 3,000 Service men is consistent with the Antarctic Treaty.
§ Mr. OnslowYes.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the reply of the Under-Secretary of State on 25 October, Official Report, c. 262, what protection is being afforded cruise ships for holidaymakers visiting the Falkland Islands.
§ Mr. OnslowNon-Argentine cruise ships are free to navigate in waters off the Falkland Islands in the normal64W way. British Forces continue to maintain the protection zone excluding all Argentine military aircraft and warships from an area of 150 miles around the Falklands.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now answer questions relating to contacts between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the Argentine in the period before the invasion of the Falkland Islands and Dependencies.
§ Mr. OnslowNo. Such questions fall within the terms of reference of the review being conducted by the Committee of Privy Councillors, chaired by Lord Franks, on the events leading up to the Argentine invasion on 2 April. Until the committee has reported, it would not be appropriate to give answers to such questions.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a list showing the numbers of European Economic Community nations which supported, did not support or did not express an opinion in voting for the British position in the recent United Nations General Assembly vote on the future of the Falkland Islands.
§ Mr. OnslowThe votes of the members of the European Community were as follows:
Country Vote Belgium Abstention Denmark Abstention Federal Republic of Germany Abstention France Abstention Greece Positive Vote Ireland Abstention Italy Abstention Luxembourg Abstention Netherlands Abstention United Kingdom Negative Vote
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, since 1945 to 1982, there has been a net outflow of funds from the Falkland Islands to the United Kingdom; and what are the precise figures for the years (a) 1945 to 1976 and (b) 1977 to 1982.
§ Mr. OnslowNo official records are made of the outflow of funds from the Falkland Islands to the United Kingdom as such remittances are not subject to exchange control regulations.
However, estimates of Falkland Islands fund flows are given in Lord Shackleton's economic reports of 1976 and 1982, copies of which are in the Library of the House.