§ Sir Richard BodyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy that each British embassy in each EU member country has an agricultural attaché [92433]
§ Mr. RookerAll British Embassies in EU countries have Officers responsible for Agricultural matters. In four of these, Bonn, Paris, Rome and Madrid, the Officers are seconded from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In the other 10, the Officers are members of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, covering other EU issues as well as agriculture. The UK Permanent Representative to the European Union in Brussels also has five MAFF officers covering agriculture.
Officials in my Department, in liaison with the territorial departments, ensure that Officers are kept up to date on all aspects of UK agricultural policy, through day-to-day contact and regular briefing meetings in London.