EU Common Foreign and Security Policy

HL Deb 09 June 1999 vol 601 c164WA

Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they expect that Turkey, Norway, Iceland, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will participate in the European Union's Common, Foreign and Security Policy formulation, presentation and enactment, as apparently proposed by the United States. [HL2643]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

It is for the member states of the European Union to determine the direction and objectives of its Common Foreign and Security Policy. Certain associate countries of the European Union, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, are already invited to align their foreign policies with those of the European Union.

The Treaty of Amsterdam provides for the EU to avail itself of the WEU to elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Norway and Iceland are all associate members of the WEU. It is the Government's policy that any changes to defence arrangements in Europe, including in the WEU, must take account of the interests and existing rights of WEU associates.