HC Deb 18 December 1991 vol 201 cc181-2W
18. Mr. Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advantages he expects to flow from the Maastricht summit.

20. Sir Teddy Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the discussions at Maastricht.

Mr. Hurd

I refer my hon. Friends to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 11 December. In the ways which my right hon. Friend set out, the Maastricht agreement will equip the Community and its member states to work more closely together, organising each aspect of their work in the most effective way rather than forcing it into a single pattern. We believe that this will add to the strength of the work.

37. Mr. Patrick Thompson

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Maastricht negotiations.

Mr. Garel-Jones

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 11 December. The agreement reached at Maastricht is good for Britain and for Europe. It provides for strengthened intergovernmental co-operation in the field of foreign policy and in combating cross-border crime, drugs trafficking and in other areas of interior and justice policy. It will make the Community more efficient and accountable. The Community is now in good shape to face the challenges of the rest of the 1990s, including enlargement.