§ 2. Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit Romania to discuss economic co-operation.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNeither I nor my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs plan to visit Romania at present. However, I hope that Ministers will be able to discuss economic matters with the Romanian Deputy Prime Minister in the United Kingdom next month. My right hon. Friend discussed Romania's troubled progress towards democracy with his Romanian counterpart in New York on 2 October.
§ 52. Mr. SumbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Foreign214W Affairs Council is next due to meet to review the postponement of trade and economic and commercial co-operation agreements with Romania; and what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards such agreements being dependent upon progress towards democratic reforms.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe EC's trade and co-operation agreement with Romania was signed in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 October. The Council had earlier agreed that Romania's progress towards political and economic reform justified this positive step. We strongly support the Community's policy of treating individual countries according to their progress and commitment towards political and economic reform. The EC has, therefore, yet to decide to extend economic aid to Romania.