§ Mr. AustinTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he530W has received from the EU associated member states regarding changes to air passenger duty: and if he will make a statement; [156826]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Republic of Slovenia regarding changes to air passenger duty. [156828]
§ Mr. VazThe Slovenian Ambassador wrote to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 22 September 2000 on behalf of 11 negotiating EU applicants (all except Hungary) to ask if we could bring forward the application of the European Economic Area rate to Slovenia and other EU associate member countries.
After detailed consultation with other Government Departments, in particular HM Custom and Excise, the Foreign Secretary replied formally on 5 February 2001 that we could not as this was a taxation issue with both legislative and revenue consequences. In response to a further letter from the Ambassador a meeting with relevant officials was suggested to discuss the matter further.