HC Deb 25 May 1995 vol 260 cc665-6W
Mr. Spearing

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in respect of the intergovernmental conference on political union convened by the European Council at its meeting in Dublin on 25 and 26 June 1990, he will state(a) the date and location of each meeting, (b) the names of those representing the United Kingdom, (c) the relevant duration of each meeting and (d) which parts of the draft treaty on political union (i) were, and (ii) were not incorporated into the draft treaty on European Union signed at Maastricht on 9 and 10 December 1991.

Mr. David Davis

[holding answer 7 March 1995]: Ministerial meetings were held on the following dates as part of the 1990–91 intergovernmental conference on political union:

Date Representative Location
1990
15 December (Formal Opening of IGC) Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Rome
1991
4–5 February Foreign Secretary Brussels
4 March Foreign Secretary and the right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Brussels
26 March (Informal Foreign Ministers meeting) Foreign Secretary Luxembourg
8 April (Special European Council) Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Luxembourg
15 April Right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Luxembourg
27–28 April (Informal Foreign Ministers meeting) Foreign Secretary Luxembourg

Date Representative Location
13–14 May Foreign Secretary and the right hon. Member for Watford (Mr.Garel-Jones) Brussels
3 June (Informal Foreign Ministers meeting) Foreign Secretary Dresden
17–18 June Foreign Secretary Luxembourg
23 June Right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Luxembourg
28–29 June (European Council) Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Luxembourg
29–30 July Right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Brussels
30 September Foreign Secretary and the right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Brussels
5–6 October (Informal Foreign Ministers meeting) Foreign Secretary The Hague
28 October Right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Brussels
4–5 November Foreign Secretary and the right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Brussels
12–13 November Foreign Secretary and the right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) The Hague
2–3 December Foreign Secretary and the right hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) Brussels
9–10 December (European Council) Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Maastricht

This was an on-going negotiation, none of which was finalised until the Maastricht European Council on 10 December 1991, following which the treaty on European Union was signed at Maastricht on 7 February 1992.