§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his decision to agree to the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 February adopting a regulation on the control of certain chemical products prior to completion of parliamentary scrutiny.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe proposal for a regulation requiring national controls on the export of eight key chemical weapons precursors arose at very short notice, and discussion at the European political co-operation ministerial meeting in Madrid on 14 February revealed a strong concensus for urgent Community action. Given our firm stand against proliferation of chemical weapons and our wish to see existing export controls in Community countries applied more effectively, we took the view that an immediate decision on the regulation would be appropriate. That is why we did not oppose the adoption of the regulation at the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 February, on which I reported in the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath (Mr. Townsend) on 22 February, even though it was clearly not possible in the very short time available to complete parliamentary scrutiny. The Chairman of the European Legislation Committee was, of course, kept fully informed throughout.