§ Sir Geoffrey FinsbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the number of senior officials employed by the Council of Europe from the United Kingdom and other member states; and what steps are taken to ensure a balance between the numbers.
§ Mr. WaldegraveOn I May 1990, 23 of the 138 senior officials (grades A4 to A7) of the Council of Europe came from the United Kingdom; others were: Federal Republic of Germany 23, France 21, Italy 20, Netherlands nine, Belgium eight, Austria five, Switzerland five, Sweden five, Spain four, Turkey four, Greece three, Republic of Ireland two, Luxembourg two, Cyprus one, Denmark one, Malta one, Norway one. British nationals occupied two of the 25 top A6 and A7 posts (France seven, Italy four, Federal Republic of Germany three, Switzerland two, and one each from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands and Spain). We are broadly satisfied with the current overall balance, which reflects the requirement that posts should be fairly distributed among member states. If an imbalance were to arise we would discuss it with the Secretary-General, who has statutory responsibility for the question.