§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the dates since 1 August 1999 on which he (i) met and (ii) spoke by telephone with the (a) Spanish Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (b) the Irish Minister for Agriculture and Food, (c) the Italian Minister for Agricultural Policies, (d) the Luxembourg Minister for Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development and (e) the Dutch Minister for Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries; [108425]
(2) if he will list the dates since 1 August 1999 on which he (i) met and (ii) spoke by telephone with the (a) Austrian Federal Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, (b) the Portuguese Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, (c) the Finnish Minister for Agriculture, (d) the Swedish Minister for Agriculture, (e) the Agriculture Commissioner of the European Union and (0 the American Secretary of Agriculture; [108428]
(3) if he will list the dates since 1 August 1999 on which he (i) met and (ii) spoke by telephone with (a) the Belgian Minister for Agriculture and Small and Medium Sized Businesses, (b) the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, (c) the German Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and (d) the Greek Minister for Agriculture. [108427]
§ Mr. Nick Brown[holding answer 3 February 2000]: There are regular contacts between EU agriculture Ministers and the agriculture Commissioner within the margins of agriculture councils and at other times by telephone. In addition, there are regular contacts between officials acting on behalf of Ministers and the Commissioner.
I plan to meet the American Secretary of Agriculture later this month.