§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress achieved with a United Kingdom lead consequential to the joint letter of President Chirac and Chancellor Kohl to the Cardiff European Council. [74438]
§ Ms QuinSince the Franco-German letter written to the Prime Minister before the Cardiff European Council, the UK has taken the lead in agreeing joint statements with Spain on economic reform and employment, Sweden on social inclusion, and Germany on tax, in advance of the Vienna European Council. In addition, we issued a joint statement on defence with France at the Anglo-French summit in St. Malo last December, and are vigorously pursuing this debate with partners in the run up to the Washington NATO Summit in April and the Cologne European Council in June. There has been a widespread welcome from our EU partners for our approach.