HC Deb 15 June 1990 vol 174 cc383-4W
Mr. Atkinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the most recent meeting of COCOM.

Mr. Waldegrave

The high-level meeting of COCOM took place in Paris from 6–7 June. The meeting agreed a British proposal for the establishment of a "core list" of items of essential strategic significance, to be applied to all the proscribed destinations. This core list will replace the existing industrial list and will result in a new, shorter set of controls.

The meeting also agreed to the deletion of 30 items from the existing industrial list, identified as a direct result of work already done following the British proposal for a core list. The deletions will be implemented on 1 July. Work will continue to identify further items for deletion.

Signifiant revisions were also agreed in the controls on machine tools, computers and telecommunications. These will be implemented on 1 July.

The high-level meeting welcomed the establishment from 1 July of an interim export control regime for the GDR.