§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting he attended in January in Latvia with heads of European Governments on environmental policy co-ordination. [28203]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonThe Summit of the Council of Baltic Sea States took place in Riga on 22–23 January. The Deputy Prime Minister represented the UK as Presidency of the EU. The Summit discussed regional co-operation; enlargement of the EU; democracy and human rights; economic co-operation; investment; transport; energy; environment and sustainable development, including the outcome of the Kyoto Summit; information technology; and higher education.
On the environment, the Summit supported ongoing work on sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region; reaffirmed its commitment to removal of pollution from the Baltic Sea and endorsed a strategy for improving reception facilities for ship-generated waste; and welcomed assistance from the European Union in combating pollution.