Asked by: Lord Willoughby de Broke (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Georgian nationals resident in the UK are subject to government sanctions.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government is not aware of any Georgian nationals resident in the UK who have been designated under UK sanctions.
Asked by: Lord Willoughby de Broke (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the government of China observes the conditions of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign Secretary is engaging actively with a range of international partners to explain our position and impress on them the gravity of situation. We want to build up a groundswell of those who share our commitment to international law. We believe that is the most effective means of getting China to live up to its obligations and responsibilities as a leading member of the international community. We will also work within international institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council to ensure that China upholds the commitments they made as co-signatory to the Joint Declaration. The UK and the US raised the issue at the UN Security Council on 28 May.
Asked by: Lord Willoughby de Broke (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ascertain the safety of Martin Lee and other supporters of democracy in Hong Kong arrested in April.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are concerned by the arrests of Martin Lee and other pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong. We are following these cases closely. Senior Officials have raised our concern about the arrests with the authorities in Hong Kong, Beijing and with the Chinese Embassy in London. We will continue to make our views clear publicly and privately.
Asked by: Lord Willoughby de Broke (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they were consulted on the EU–Turkey deal that will allow Turkish citizens visa-free access to the Schengen area and which provided for three billion euros of aid to Turkey over two years.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK played an influential role in shaping the EU-Turkey summit on 29 November where these issues were discussed. The Prime Minister, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), attended the summit, where the EU and Turkey agreed to step up cooperation on the many common issues that we face. We welcomed the clear message the summit sent of the importance the EU attaches to its wide-ranging partnership with Turkey. Turkey is a key partner in the EU’s response to the migration crisis and we commend its generosity in ably hosting over 2.2 million refugees from the crisis in Syria and Iraq. A funding package of €3 billion will help ease the refugee burden on Turkey whilst preventing further uncontrolled migration to the EU. Any progress in Turkey’s visa-liberalisation roadmap will not directly affect the UK as we do not participate in the immigration and border aspects of the Schengen acquis.
Asked by: Lord Willoughby de Broke (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the statement on 10 December by the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union that "The European Commission is more than ever a political body" is compatible with the Commission's role as set out in the Maastricht Treaty.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
The Government is clear that the European Commission’s role is as set out in the relevant Treaties. Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) specifies that the European Commission’s role includes, inter alia, ensuring the application of the Treaties and overseeing the application of Union law under the control of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Article 17 of the TEU also provides that, in carrying out its responsibilities, the Commission shall be completely independent.