§ Sir Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the sale of passports in Eastern Europe by the Belgian Government; and if persons who have secured passports in this way have the right of entry into the UK. [2027]
169W
§ Peter HainThe Belgian MFA has carried out an internal inquiry into allegations made by a former employee of the Belgian Embassy in Sofia regarding the sale of visas at the Embassy. Although passports were not included in the allegations, we understand that the inquiry also looked into passports. The inquiry found no evidence to support the allegations and concluded that no rules had been broken. Separately, a judicial inquiry was launched in 1997 into the allegations and is still under way. It will be for the Belgian Procurator General to decide the outcome in this case.
Visas issued by the Belgian authorities allow access to the countries in the Schengen zone, which covers all EU countries except the UK and Ireland. They therefore do not permit entry to the United Kingdom, which maintains its own frontier controls and does not participate in Schengen visa arrangements.