§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of how proposals to extend the competence of the European Economic Community into matters of non-proliferation would affect the United Kingdom's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty;
(2) what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards extending the competence of the European Economic Community into matters of non-proliferation.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThere are no proposals for such extension of European Community competence.
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the British Government's preparations for the nonproliferation treaty fourth review conference in Geneva in August-September.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe have played a full and constructive role in the preparations for the fourth review conference of the non-proliferation treaty. The third preparatory committee successfully concluded procedural matters and the allocation of administrative posts.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his proposals to extend and develop the non-proliferation treaty.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 15 December 1989 to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas).
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government intend to put forward at the fourth review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in regard to developing energy aid via provisions of articles III and IV of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe do not intend to put forward any proposals in this regard. We do, however, already provide assistance to a number of developing countries, via the "Footnote A" projects, under the International Atomic Energy Agency's technical assistance programme, for the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
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§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent to which the development of the British Trident system is compatible with the Government's obligations under article VI of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNegotiations on the reduction of strategic weapons are being conducted by the United States and Soviet Union. We welcome the prospect of a START agreement this year. Our position with regard to the British strategic deterrent is that, if United States and Soviet strategic arsenals were further reduced very substantially and there had been no significant improvements in defensive capabilities, we would consider how best we might contribute to the arms control process in the light of the changed circumstances.
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the composition of the British delegation to the fourth review conference of the non-proliferation treaty in Geneva in August–September.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which United Kingdom-based non-governmental organisations have been granted observer status for the fourth non-proliferation treaty review conference; how non-governmental organisations obtain such status; and what financial assistance is Her Majesty's Government giving to United Kingdom non-governmental organisations to attend the conference.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI refer the hon. Gentlemen to my answer of 11 June to the hon. Member for Stockton, North (Mr. Cook).
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has prepared an educational video on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty for use in schools and colleges.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNo. However, the arms control and disarmament research unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes notes on arms control on an approximately monthly basis and a quarterly review. Both publications regularly include information on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and the fourth review conference and are available on request.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions Her Majesty's Government have taken to fulfil their obligations under article IV of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and what initiatives the Government are considering to expand the provisions of article IV to include other energy sources.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe contribute annually to the "Footnote A" projects, under the International Atomic Energy Agency's technical assistance programme, and there is a considerable amount of trade and co-operation in the nuclear area involving British companies. We are not considering any initiatives to expand the provisions of article IV.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions Her Majesty's Government have taken to encourage Albania to become a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
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§ Mr. WaldegraveNone. In common with the other depository powers of the NPT, we do not have diplomatic relations with Albania.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those meetings concerning nuclear weapons proliferation arid nonproliferation measures at which his Department will be represented between now and the fourth quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe three preparatory committees for the NPT review conference have been concluded. No further multilateral meetings devoted specifically to this subject are planned before the review conference, although the subject will be on the agenda of a number of bilateral meetings.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives are being considered by Her Majesty's Government to expand the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty so that source or special fissionable material or equipment or material specially designed or prepared for the processing, use or production of special fissionable material, can no longer be transferred from states party to the treaty to non-nuclear weapons states for non-peaceful purposes without the application of treaty safeguards.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNone. In accordance with article III of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and the nuclear suppliers guidelines to which all major nuclear suppliers subscribe, source or special fissionable material or equipment or material especially designed or prepared for the processing, use or production of special fissionable material may be transferred to non-nuclear weapon states only for peaceful purposes and only if the source or special fissionable material is subject to safeguards.