§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed provisions of the draft treaty of Amsterdam on the relations between the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth; and if he will initiate discussions with other Commonwealth Governments on the effect of relevant aspects of the treaty prior to its signing. [3912]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonThe draft Treaty is primarily concerned with internal EU matters and has no direct impact on UK/Commonwealth relations. We therefore have no plans to hold discussions with Commonwealth governments before signature of the Treaty. There will however be opportunities to discuss EU matters of interest to the Commonwealth in the margin of this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. In addition, the EU has regular contacts with Commonwealth countries through a wide range of co-operation agreements, notably the Lome Convention to which 38 Commonwealth countries members belong.