Asked by: Lord Pannick (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United Kingdom’s relationship with South Africa, in light of the increasingly close links which that country has formed with Russia and with Iran.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We encourage South Africa to use their available channels, including the BRICS and their G20 Presidency preparations, to urge Russia to end its unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine and to make clear to Iran that Hamas has no role in a long-term political solution which delivers security for both Palestine and Israel.
Asked by: Lord Pannick (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will be publishing a response to proposals from the European Court of Justice for new rules of procedure that would permit the General Court to take into account, in actions for annulment, confidential information that has not been shown to some of the parties to the proceedings.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
The Government issued an Explanatory Memorandum on the 25 April in which it highlighted these proposals as a matter of particular interest. This is a complex and sensitive issue which Governments across the EU are very carefully considering. We are aware of parliamentary interest in this issue and will continue to update on developments. Under the Treaty on European Union national security remains the sole responsibility of each Member State.