HC Deb 18 April 1995 vol 258 cc7-8W
Mr. Mackinley

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of Wilton Parks activities is devoted to conferences organised for private sector customers; and what proportion is devoted to conferences for or on behalf of the new democracies of central and eastern Europe. [18677]

Mr. Goodlad

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to Wilton Park under its chief executive, Richard Langhorne. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from R.T.B. Langhorne to Mr. Andrew Mackinlay dated 10 April 1995: I have been asked to respond to your questions about Wilton Park. Wilton Park does not itself organise conferences for private sector customers, though it does from time to time cooperate with other organisations, such as the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, where there is a joint interest in a particular topic. During the periods when Wiston House, which is the home of Wilton Park, is not being used for Wilton Park meetings, it can be used as a host venue for private sector customers for training courses and other functions. In the year 1994–95, the proportion of income was 62.4 per cent. from Wilton Park activities and 37.6 per cent. from commercial operations. No Wilton Park conferences are directly organised on behalf of foreign governments, but Wilton Park has recently much increased its coverage of issues related to Eastern and Central Europe. In 1994–95, six conferences out of 32 were devoted to such issues and they are listed below. In addition there were Eastern European speakers and participation in 21 of the conferences during the same period. At the invitation of the Polish government, a special and outstandingly successful Wilton Park conference was held in Warsaw in September 1994.

  • 412: Economic reform and privatisation in Central and Eastern Europe.
  • 415: Europe's Balkan Wars
  • 419: Nordic and Baltic Security
  • 424: Russian Security Dilemmas
  • 430: Civil society in Central and Eastern Europe
Warsaw Special: The EU and Central Europe: from Association to Membership Later on this year, we will be covering: candidates for membership of the EU; Russian foreign policy in post-communist Europe; Longer-term stability in the Balkans; and the future of Ukraine. If you need any further information, please let me know, and I will do my best to provide it.