§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts he has made to ensure transparency in the use of EU aid to the Palestinian Authority. [68714]
§ Clare ShortI have been asked to reply.
We, other EU member states and the European Commission, continue to press the Palestinian Authority to consolidate its accounts and manage its finances in a transparent and accountable manner. We welcome the recent production of a five year Development Plan by the Palestinian Authority and the availability of more information on their budgetary process.
The EC only rarely provides direct financial assistance to the PA. Where it does so, special mechanisms are set up to ensure that the funds are properly spent.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of EU aid to the Palestinian Authority; and if he will place a copy of the reports on the effectiveness of the aid in the Library. [68713]
§ Clare ShortI have been asked to reply.
685WThe European Union, including individual member states, has made a major contribution to supporting the Middle East Peace Process by providing 54 per cent. ($1.7 billion) of total development assistance to the Palestinians since 1993. This includes over 650 mecu provided directly by the European Commission to the Palestinian Authority.
To enable member states to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of EC aid, we have pressed for an evaluation of the EC's last five-year programme of assistance for the Palestinians, which ended in December 1998. We understand that this evaluation is soon to be finalised, and expect the findings to be formally presented by the Commission shortly. As soon as they are available, we will place a copy in the Library.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress made by the Palestinian Authority in combating terrorism. [68711]
§ Mr. FatchettWe commend Palestinian efforts to clamp down on terrorism and their compliance so far with the security commitments signed up to in the Wye River Memorandum. Measures taken by the Palestinian Authority include the arrest of terrorist suspects, collection of illegal weapons, anti-incitement laws and provision of security plans to the Israelis. Meetings of the bilateral and trilateral committees on security issues continue to take place. We are glad to be able to assist the Palestinians in their efforts through major EU programmes of counter-terrorism assistance and security assistance. But there is still room for improvement and we urge continued co-operation between the parties to implement Wye.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Iranian Government not to provide support to organisations whose objectives are to destabilise the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. [68767]
§ Mr. FatchettDuring the EU/Iran talks of 18 December 1998 in Vienna, we and our EU partners discussed the Middle East peace process with the Iranian representatives. We urged them not to obstruct the peace process. The Iranians said that they were not against peace, but it must be a just and justifiable peace. Iran welcomed the continued EU involvement in the Middle East peace process. We and our EU partners will continue to raise this issue with our Iranian interlocutors.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the percentage of Palestinians in(a) the West Bank and (b) Gaza living under the governance of the Palestinian Authority. [68765]
§ Mr. FatchettWe assess that approximately 97.5 per cent. of Palestinians in the West Bank, and 100 per cent. in Gaza, live under the governance of the Palestinian Authority.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress towards democracy in areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority. [68751]
686W
§ Mr. FatchettSince its establishment in May 1994 the Palestinian Authority has taken its first steps towards democracy and in January 1996 held free elections. The elections led to the establishment of the Palestinian Legislative Council. We continue to support the process of institution-building in the Palestinian Authority both bilaterally and through EU programmes.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Syria. [68747]
§ Mr. FatchettOur relations with Syria are good. I visited Syria in December 1998 and met President Asad and Foreign Minister Shara'a, and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have been glad to receive Mr. Shara'a here on his visit to London today.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the preconditions placed on the normalisation of relations with Syria following Lockerbie, indicating which preconditions have been met and which have yet to be met. [68768]
§ Mr. FatchettThere has at no stage been any consideration of attaching such conditions on the positive development of our relations with Syria.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the Foreign Minister of Syria. [68746]
§ Mr. FatchettMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I will meet the Foreign Minister of Syria today during his visit to London.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of Syrian troops in Lebanon. [68749]
§ Mr. FatchettWe believe that under the terms of the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Co-ordination signed by the Lebanese and Syrian Governments in May 1991, there are approximately 22,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the(a) financial, (b) military and (c) strategic assistance given by Iran to (i) Hamas and (ii) Hezbollah. [68742]
§ Mr. FatchettI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on 1 December 1998,Official Report, column 158.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans(a) he and (b) ministers in his Department have to visit Israel. [68766]
§ Mr. FatchettNeither I nor my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has any plans to visit Israel at the present time.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation he has made to the Palestinian Authority about the early release of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, leader of Hamas. [68712]
687W
§ Mr. FatchettWe have not made any representations to the Palestinian Authority about the release of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, leader of Hamas.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received about Iranian efforts to procure weapons of mass destruction. [68717]
§ Mr. FatchettWe continue to encourage Iran to respect all the international treaties it has signed relating to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and to comply fully with its obligations under them.
With our European partners, we have urged Iran to negotiate an additional safeguards protocol with the IAEA which would significantly enhance the organisation's ability to detect activities not permitted under the NPT.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the acquisition of long-range ballistic missiles by Iran; and if he will make a statement concerning their effect on the stability of the Middle East. [68716]
§ Mr. Tony LloydWe remain extremely concerned by Iran's flight test of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile in July of last year. The acquisition of this system, with an approximate range of 1300km, threatens the stability of the whole of the Middle East. We assess that though the Shahab-3 is at a relatively advanced stage of its development, Iran will not be able to deploy the system in the immediate future. Whilst we understand Iran's legitimate security concerns, we have repeatedly urged the Iranian authorities to refrain from developing ballistic missiles. It is in nobody's interest for an arms race to develop in this already volatile region.
The UK, as a founder member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), works with its partners to halt the proliferation of ballistic missile programmes of concern. The MTCR has done much to deny, among others, the Iranian ballistic missile programme, key technologies and equipment.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to ascertain the whereabouts of Israeli airman Ron Arad. [68745]
§ Mr. FatchettI take every opportunity to raise the issue of Ron Arad with anyone who may be able to provide information on his whereabouts. We also raise the cases of other missing servicemen.
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to monitor Palestinian compliance with the agreement entered into at the Wye River Plantation. [68710]
§ Mr. FatchettWe are in close contact with both sides and also with the US which plays a key role in monitoring compliance with the Wye Memorandum. Our Missions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem also carefully monitor the level of compliance on the ground. Both the US and the Israelis declared themselves satisfied with Palestinian compliance with their commitments under Wye prior to the first redeployment on 20 November. Since then we continue to believe the Palestinians have made good progress.
688W
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make Iranian recognition of Israel a precondition for the restoration of ambassadorial links with Iran. [68743]
§ Mr. FatchettMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Iranian Foreign Minister, as part of the New York agreement on 24 September 1998, agreed to exchange Ambassadors. We remain committed to all elements of that agreement.