§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many engagements he has carried out in his role as Minister responsible for European affairs; and what engagements he has planned for the next six months;
(2) what additional resources were made available in terms of staff and finance to his Department upon a Minister being appointed to be responsible for European affairs; how often this Minister has travelled abroad to discharge his responsibilities; which countries have been visited; and for what purpose.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 28 January 1994]: In view of the importance of the European Union and of European Community policies to Scotland and to Scottish interests, in May of last year I invited my noble Friend the Minister of State to take responsibility for general European issues within the Scottish Office. In addition, all Ministers in the Scottish Office continue to look after European affairs within their own areas of responsibility, and I myself continue to be actively involved in European issues.
In the course of their responsibilities all Scottish Office Ministers have undertaken engagements with European dimensions and will continue to do so as the opportunity arises. For example, in November last year I addressed the annual general meeting of the Scottish Council of the European Movement and in December opened the Europartenariat in Glasgow and my noble Friend the Minister of State attended a meeting in December held by the Local Government International Bureau for the United Kingdom members of the Committee of the Regions.
In addition to domestic engagements, Ministers have also visited other member states to further Scottish interests in the European context. Last year, I visited Brussels in January and September to attend meetings of the joint Environment and Transport Council, of the joint Foreign Affairs and Agriculture Council and of the Agriculture Council and to undertake other engagements relating to Scotland's interests in Europe including meetings with Commissioners Milian and Brittan and with the Scottish European Association and Scotland Europa.
In November last year my noble Friend the Minister of State visited Brussels to attend a meeting of Justice and Interior Ministers, to meet Scottish MEPs and to undertake other engagements relating to his responsibilities for general European issues; and in December he visited Strasbourg to participate in Scottish Week at the European Parliament. My hon. Friend the Minister for Fisheries in Scotland visited Brussels or Luxembourg on four occasions in 1993 to attend meetings of the Fisheries Council; in addition he visited Cologne to promote 922W Scottish exports at the ANUGA food fair and in January this year visited Brussels for a meeting with Commissioner Paleokrassas.
My hon. Friend the Minister for Tourism in Scotland visited Bavaria in February last year to promote Scotland as a tourist destination. My hon. Friend the Minister for Industry in Scotland visited Lille in June last year to support the Scottish presence at the Europartenariat event and Munich in December to participate in discussions about employment issues.
In response to the growing importance of the European dimension, the Scottish Office undertook a thorough review in 1991 of the way in which it conducts its European business. This resulted in the establishment of a European central support unit within the Scottish Office, currently staffed by one official at grade 7 level, one at higher executive officer level and one at executive officer level with clerical support. The unit is responsible for advising Ministers on general European issues of concern to Scotland.