§ Lord Shore of Stepneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the statement in Annex 2 of the Presidency Conclusions, issued at the end of the Vienna European Union Summit Meeting on 12 December, dealing with the representation of the Community at international level with particular reference to meetings of the G7 and the International Monetary Fund that "the Community must speak with one voice"; (1) is a correct record of what was agreed; (2) applies to the existing members of those organisations who are also members of the Euroland 11, namely Germany, France and Italy; and, if so, whether they must henceforth cease to make independent use of their votes and voices and reflect the positions and decisions agreed by the 11; (3) does not apply to the United Kingdom; (4) means that if the United Kingdom did, at some future date and following a referendum join the single currency, it too would lose its freedom to speak and vote independently at meetings of the G7 and the IMF. [HL355]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThe Vienna European Council endorsed a report by ECOFIN on the external representation of the Community. The ECOFIN report makes clear that this agreement is to be used as a basis for negotiation with international parties and is limited to "issues of particular relevance to EMU".
The Government's position is set out in the Explanatory Memorandum of 27 November 1998 on a related Commission proposal (document 12815/87 COM(1998) 637). The United Kingdom will continue to have its own seat at the G7 and other fora as will France, Germany and Italy.