§ Mr. Heathcoat—AmoryTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the evidential basis is of the statement on page 8 of the White Paper, "A Constitutional Treaty for the EU", that the EU's share of total UK trade has grown from 40 to 55 per cent. [131272]
§ Mr. MacShaneHM Customs and Excise data indicates that in 1973 UK trade with the EU 15 was 43 per cent. of total UK trade. This has risen to 55.2 per cent. in 2002.
Detail 1973 2002 UK trade with the EU 15 (£ million) 12,177 227,925 UK trade with the world (£ million) 28,310 413,281 EU15: per cent. Share 43.0 55.2
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department is doing to encourage more countries to join the European Union. [131275]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe British Government continue to champion the accession of the three remaining candidates for EU membership. We are providing political and practical support to help Romania and Bulgaria complete their negotiations, prepare for membership and accede in 2007. We are also encouraging Turkey to implement fully the reforms that are a prerequisite for the opening of EU accession negotiations.
Beyond this, we will continue to support eligible potential future candidates in carrying out political and economic reforms that will help their EU candidacies.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his assessment of the benefits of expansion of the European Union.[131349]
§ Mr. MacShaneWe have long supported the enlargement process, which will promote peace, prosperity and security across the EU and beyond. Both the benefits and potential costs to the UK of the next wave of enlargement are outlined in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) on the European Union (Accessions) Bill. The RIA has been placed in the Library of the House and is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: www.fco.gov.uk