§ Mr. Robert McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what commitments the Irish Republic was required to make in relation to territorial claims on fellow members of the Western European Union when it applied for observer status of that organisation; and if he will make a statement of the compatibility of such claims with the WEU's European defence policy. [23226]
§ Mr. RifkindThe Rome declaration of 20 November 1992 on WEU observers, which recorded the invitation to the Republic of Ireland to become an observer, does not incorporate any such commitments. We do not regard the Irish constitutional position as incompatible with observer status in WEU.