§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's contribution to formulation of the United Kingdom and EU negotiating position being adopted at the Biosafety Protocol talks taking place in Montreal. [106959]
§ Mr. HainThe FCO has worked closely with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and other Government Departments in preparing, with EU partners, for the resumption of negotiations on the Protocol. Two FCO officials are attending the talks in Montreal this week in the team led by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment. Along with our EU partners, we are firmly committed to achieving a Biosafety Protocol that secures worldwide protection from any adverse effects on the environment or human health from the transboundary movement of living or genetically modified organisms.