§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to place in the Library the background papers, including public documents from foreign countries received and collated by the European Union intergovernmental conference unit in the Foreign Office, as and when these papers are received.
§ Mr. David DavisWe will ensure that Parliament receives copies of the relevant papers submitted to the study group of the 1996 intergovernmental conference by the Community institutions. We will also place in the Library important public documents relating to the IGC, including those from other member states. Ministers will in any case provide Parliament with regular accounts of the preparations for the IGC in the course of normal parliamentary business.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which cabinet Committees, official's committees and consortia with outside interests and how many civil servants are working on preparations and proposals for the 1996 intergovernmental conference arising from the Maastricht treaty.
§ Mr. David DavisMinisters and officials in various Governmental Departments have already begun preparations for the 1996 intergovernmental conference. As work proceeds, it will be co-ordinated by the ministerial committee on defence and overseas policy, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, and by the ministerial sub-committee on european questions, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The views of outside bodies will be taken into account in these preparations.