§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British civil servants have been appointed or seconded to work for the Committee of Permanent Representatives serving the European Council of Ministers; and what is Her Majesty's Government's assessment of the effectiveness of COREPER in the development of European Community policies.
§ Mr. Garel-JonesCOREPER is composed of representatives of the Twelve member states and meets to prepare decisions for the Council of Ministers, a job it has done effectively since the Community was founded. The Committee meets in two formats: COREPER ambassadors, comprising member states' permanent representatives to the EC, and COREPER deputies. The United Kingdom's permanent representative is Sir John Kerr. He heads the United Kingdom permanent representation which numbers 65 British civil servants.