§ Lord Christopherasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the outcome of the Anglo-French Summit of 9 February. [HL711]
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonThe 23rd UK/French Summit took place in Cahors on 9 February. The Prime Minister was accompanied by his right honourable friends the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Defence Secretary and the Minister of State for Transport. There were productive exchanges on a range of bilateral issues, and measures were agreed to deal with the problem of illegal immigration. A Cross-Channel Commission to improve joint management of issues that affect cross-Channel relations was established. In addition it was agreed to take forward joint work in the fields of maritime safety, food safety, drugs trafficking and the environment.
EU, foreign policy and defence issues were also discussed, and declarations on our shared priorities for the Stockholm Special European Council in March, and on further bilateral work in Africa were issued. Copies of these and other agreed declarations have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.