HANSARD 1803–2005 → 2000s → 2004 → April 2004 → 19 April 2004 → Written Answers (Commons) → FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

HC Deb 19 April 2004 vol 420 c74W 74W

§ Mr. David Atkinson
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is the Government's policy(a) to promote and (b) to support the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; and if he will make a statement. [165023]

§ Mr. Rammell
The Government believes that EU accession to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) could bring significant advantages in ensuring that the European Union institutions are externally held to account for human rights breaches, in exactly the same way as member states. But the instrument of EU accession must not detrimentally affect the position of individual EU member states under the ECHR.