European Union (Qualified Majority Voting) (Hansard, 8 November 2000)

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policy he will adopt at Nice on the extension of qualified majority voting. [136396]
277W

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy concerning the balance of responsibilities between the United Kingdom Government and the European Union and proposals to change the method of voting in Brussels on(a) the approval of the rules of procedure of the Court of Auditors, (b) the appointment of the Court of Auditors, (c) the rules of procedure of the European Court of First Instance, (d) the rules of procedure of the European Court of Justice, (e) the appointment of the Deputy Secretary-General of the Council, (f) the appointment of the Secretary-General, (g) the Association of Overseas Countries and Territories and (h) the powers of the Court of Justice in Title IV. [136672]

§ Mr. Vaz
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood), on 30 October 2000Official Report, column 238W.

§ Mr. Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times, and on what issues, Her Majesty's Government have used their veto in the EU in each of the last 10 years; and how many times vetoes were used in total in each of those years. [136773]

§ Mr. Vaz
The Council Secretariat does not hold figures on the number of times proposals for legislation are vetoed, and the figures sought could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The use of the veto on legislative proposals is comparatively rare. But the requirement for unanimity in the most sensitive areas of policy acts as an important discipline, helping to ensure that member states tend to develop proposals which all can support.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the expansion of the aquis communautaire. [136393]

§ Mr. Vaz
The Government are clear about the benefits for the UK of co-operating with our European partners. But they are also clear that the Community should act only where the objectives cannot be better carried out by member states.