Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the position set out in the Joint Declaration 1993, that they have “no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland”, is their current policy.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government has always been clear about the importance it places on the Union and Northern Ireland’s integral place within it.
Our commitment to promoting the positives of the Union for Northern Ireland does not negate the principles of the Belfast Agreement, including the Principle of Consent providing that any change in Northern Ireland's position in the Union, will only come about based on the consent of a majority of its people.
The joint declaration in 1993 was an important part of the architecture that led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998 and of the peace process which has brought huge benefit to the people of Northern Ireland and we remain committed to the principles it espoused, the Agreement itself and the institutions it established.