§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the published objectives were of the Common, Foreign and Security Policy activity reported in the financial tables of the 2003 Commission report on EU Development Policy and the Implementation of External Assistance in 2002; what his Department's involvement in the activity was; what results it achieved; and what assessment he has made of its value for money. [165182]
Mr. Gareth ThomasDetailed descriptions of the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as described under chapter 8 in the financial tables of the EC Annual Report, are given as part of the "Final adoption of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2002". This was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 31 of January 2002 (volume 45 L29, pp.1345). A copy of this is available in the parliamentary Library or via the Commission website at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/ archive/2002/1_02920020131en.html.
In 2002 DFID contributed approximately £50,000 towards land mine clearance in Croatia managed under chapter 8. However overall responsibility for chapter 8 lies with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The activities under the CFSP budget are subject to a regular prioritisation debate against political objectives by the Political and Security Committee in which the UK takes a full part. Issues relating to value for money may be discussed as part of this review process.