HC Deb 15 January 2001 vol 361 cc27-8W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the present legal position of Mrs. Titina Loizidou and the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in the case of Loizidou against Turkey. [111410]

Mr. Vaz

Mrs. Loizidou awaits settlement of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in her case against Turkey in which she was awarded financial compensation for the loss of access to her property. The Government will continue to play their part in the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, which is responsible for supervising the implementation of judgments and for taking the necessary measures to ensure that they are implemented.

Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had recently with foreign ministers of European countries on Cyprus's application for membership of the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [144409]

Mr. Vaz

The Foreign Secretary and I have frequent discussions with our EU counterparts on Cyprus's and all the other EU candidates' membership applications. Our most recent substantive discussions were at the General Affairs Council meetings on 20 November and 4 December 2000. Cyprus has made considerable progress in its accession negotiations. We look forward to further progress under the Swedish Presidency which will take forward the recommendations made in the European Commission's Enlargement Strategy paper of November 2000.

Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has recently had with the Turkish Government on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Loizidou against Turkey; and if he will make a statement. [144411]

Mr. Hain

Complementing the collective responsibility of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers to ensure that judgments of the European Court of Human Rights are implemented, the Government have taken regular opportunities in bilateral discussions to urge Turkey to comply with the judgment.

Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many chapters of the European Union's application for the membership of the Republic of Cyprus have been successfully negotiated; how many remain to be approved; and if he will make a statement. [144581]

Mr. Vaz

Cyprus has opened 29, and provisionally closed 17, of the 31 chapters of the EU's "acquis communautaire" (the body of EU legislation and practice). We expect significant further progress in the accession negotiations during the Swedish Presidency.

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