§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what involvement Ministers and officials of his Department have had in the conference on environmental protection in Sofia in October organised by the conference on security and co-operation in Europe; what papers were presented on behalf of the United Kingdom; and if any official United Kingdom representatives at the conference have had any meeting with the unofficial Ecoglasnost Bulgarian environmentalist organisations.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe have sent a delegation to the CSCE meeting in Sofia on the protection of the environment which includes officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of the Environment and the Health and Safety Executive. A member of the Green Alliance was also in the delegation. Our delegation has not itself submitted any proposals to the meeting, but has played an active part in the processing of ideas advanced during the meeting. It has co-sponsored a proposal drawing attention to the role of independent organisations and individuals in the field of the environment.
Members of the delegation have had a number of contacts with representatives of Bulgarian non- governmental organisations interested in the environment, including Ecoglasnost. Her Majesty's ambassador in Sofia and the head of the United Kingdom delegation jointly hosted a reception at the embassy on 25 October which was attended by representatives of these organisations.