HC Deb 15 February 1990 vol 167 cc324-5W
Mr. Hill

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will approach the Western European Union Council to urge it to take immediate steps to halt the arms race in the middle east and draw up a list of products and technologies which member countries would undertake not to supply to any country in the near or middle east.

Mr. Waldegrave

We remain concerned about the proliferation of armaments in the middle east but do not believe the Western European Union would be an appropriate forum to take the action proposed.

Mr. Hill

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support in the WEU Council the proposal that the French Prime Minister's 7 September 1989 proposal be taken up and a WEU programme prepared for purposeful verification and disarmament co-operation.

Mr. Waldegrave

The United Kingdom fully supports the WEU's work on European collaboration on verification. The subject is due to be discussed at the forthcoming WEU Ministeral.

Mr. Hill

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the Western European Union Assembly recommendation that the Western European Union Council instructs a working group to conduct, in consultaton with the European Commission, a detailed study of the problems that will arise for the security of member states when the single European market is created and report to the Assembly on its conclusions.

Mr. Waldegrave

The main impact on the security of EC member states of the Single European Act will arise from the removal of frontier controls and will relate to problems of crime, drugs and terrorism. These are already being discussed within the EC and in other fora such as the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe.

Mr. Hill

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action has been taken on the WEU Assembly recommendation urging the WEU Council to request the Chinese Government to accede to the international covenant on civil and political rights and the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights.

Mr. Waldegrave

The WEU Council has yet to discuss the Assembly's recommendation in detail.