§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of dissolving the Western European Union; and if he will make a statement. [141353]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Council of the Western European Union at Marseille in November 2000 agreed on a number of measures "designed to address the consequences for the WEU of the changes under way", particularly the evolution of ESDP. This included putting into place residual functions and structures for the WEU. There have been no decisions to dissolve the WEU. The focus of EU Partners and NATO Allies has been primarily on strengthening European security arrangements through ESDP and the NATO/EU174W permanent agreements. WEU nations may want to look again at its structures and functions in the light of the outcome of the EU Inter-Governmental Conference.