§ Mr. David HeathTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of France towards establishing common principles for the licensing of arms exports as part of a European code of conduct. [19869]
§ Mr. Tony LloydWe have had a number of contacts at Ministerial and Official level with the French and other European Union Governments about a Code of Conduct on arms exports in the lead-up to formal consideration of a Code during the UK's Presidency of the Union in the-first half of 1998.
§ Mr. EnnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the approval of an export licence for the supply to the Netherlands of shotgun ammunition intended for use in Bosnia. [21681]
§ Mr. Tony LloydWe recently approved the export to The Netherlands of 2,500 rounds of CS gas and target-practice shotgun ammunitions for use in riot-control by Dutch UN armed forces in Bosnia. Given that the ammunition is needed to support peace-keeping activities in Bosnia and that it is important that UN forces in Bosnia, which include British troops, are able to protect themselves, we were glad to be able to approve this export as an exception to our interpretation of the EU arms embargo on the former Yugoslavia. This decision does not affect our continued support of the EU common position on arms exports to the former Yugoslavia.