HC Deb 22 July 1996 vol 282 cc41-2W
Sir Peter Lloyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to table United Kingdom Government proposals for the European Union intergovernmental conference foreshadowed in "A Partnership of Nations". [39236]

Mr. David Davis

The United Kingdom negotiators are today tabling the following proposals in the IGC working party.

  1. (a) a memorandum on the European Court of Justice working up in detail the proposals outlined in paragraph 37 of "A Partnership of Nations";
  2. (b) the addition of a protocol to the EC treaty enabling member states to take appropriate action to regulate quota-hopping in the common fisheries policy. The details of this are set out more fully in a written answer to today's date from my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Mr. Baldry).
  3. (c) a package of measures to improve the quality of EC legislation, including Commission legislation;
  4. (d) an amendment to article 42 of the EC treaty to provide for the state aid provisions of the treaty to apply to all agricultural products;
  5. (e) an amendment to article 129c of the EC treaty to make clear that private sector projects are eligible for Community budget support under the financial regulation on trans-European networks;
  6. (f) the addition of a protocol to the EC treaty which will place a formal legal obligation on Community institutions to give full regard to considerations of animal welfare in the exercise of their powers on agriculture, transport, research and the single market.

These proposals were placed on the House Libraries this morning.

The Government are currently working up a number of other proposals including on the health and safety article and on subsidiarity which will be tabled in due course.