§ Mr. CabornTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the reasons for the variation in the English translation of article 198a of the treaty agreed at Maastrict on 11 December 1991.
Mr. Garel-Jones: The first English version of article 198a referred to
representatives of regional and local authoritiesbut in the version signed at Maastricht the word "bodieswas substitited for "authorities". Jurists/linguists decided that the term "bodies" translated better the word "collectivites" in the French text.