§ Mr. KnapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the EC Foreign Ministers conclave meeting held in Noordwijk between 12 and 13 November.
§ Mr. HurdAt their conclave in Noordwijk on 12–13 November, Foreign Ministers discussed the latest Netherlands Presidency draft treaty on political union. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I represented the United Kingdom.
I made clear, as did others, that nothing could be agreed until everything was agreed, and that if the package on the table at Maastricht was not acceptable to the United Kingdom, we would not agree it.
The conclave made useful progress in some areas. A broad consensus emerged on a number of treaty articles, including a number of our own proposals. These included a power for the European Court of Justice to fine member states who failed to comply with its judgments; a strengthening of financial accountability in the Community; and other non-legislative powers of the European Parliament. There was broad consensus on a text on citizenship, which safeguards the right of member 710W states to determine who should be a national. The proposal to establish a consultative regional body was broadly endorsed.
There was a detailed discussion of proposed extensions of Community competence and qualified majority voting. No agreement was reached and this issue will be considered again at a further conclave on 2 December.
It was recognised that several other issues would be resolved only by the European Council at Maastricht. These included:
the legislative powers of the European Parliament;proposals to strengthen inter-governmental co-operation on interior and justice matters, in a separate "pillar" of the union treaty;a common foreign and security policy, with a possible defence dimension.'