General Affairs Council
David Lidington Excerpts(11 years, 12 months ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
I will attend the General Affairs Council in Brussels on 29 May.
The focus of the meeting of the General Affairs Council, which will be chaired by the Danish EU presidency, will once again be the multi-annual financial framework (MFF). The other items on the agenda are preparation for the European Council of 29-30 June 2012, the G20 summit in Mexico (18-19 June, Los Cabos) and, at our request, a discussion of Croatia’s progress in the accession process following the recent publication of the Commission’s monitoring report.
On the MFF, there will be an orientation debate in which the Danish presidency would like Ministers to address the key issues in negotiations. For the first time, the discussion will be held on the basis of a negotiating box that covers all parts of the negotiation: all areas of spending, all headings, horizontal aspects of the financial framework (such as what should be kept on, or taken off the budget) and the system of own resources, including the UK rebate and other correction mechanisms.
As with previous meetings of the General Affairs Council, my overriding objective for the discussions on the MFF will be for the negotiating box to reflect a restrained EU budget, limited to a real-terms freeze. I will defend the UK rebate and press for the language on new own resources to be removed from the negotiating box.
On the June European Council preparation, the General Affairs Council will have a short discussion on the agenda set out by President Van Rompuy which currently covers economic policy (specifically growth), the MFF and justice and home affairs (specifically Schengen, asylum policy and the abuse of the free movement directive).
Finally, the Council discussion and conclusions on the Commission’s interim report on Croatia’s continued progress towards accession provides an opportunity for the EU, and the UK, to maintain political focus on the pre-accession monitoring process and the importance of Croatia delivering against all of their commitments ahead of accession. Croatia has already responded with a detailed action plan to follow up the report’s recommendations.
John Lawton
David Lidington Excerpts(12 years ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) on securing this debate, and I pay tribute to the consistency and tenacity with which she has represented the interests of the Lawton family to me and my officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I also want to acknowledge the presence in his place this evening of my hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr Djanogly) who, as Mr Steve Lawton’s MP, has been extremely active in making representations to the Government on behalf of the family.
I want to take the opportunity to respond to my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton by outlining the consular assistance we have provided to the family and the contacts we have had with the Greek authorities since Mr John Lawton was reported missing, and by trying to provide at least an initial response to some of the newer questions that she posed this evening.
As my hon. Friend said, Mr John Lawton had been taking part in the Taygetos mountain marathon challenge in the Kardamyli area of Greece on the morning of 8 April, Easter Sunday. He started the race, but did not show up at checkpoint 5 en route. Local search efforts began immediately it became clear that he had missed a checkpoint, and he was formally reported missing on Monday 9 April, Easter Monday. Following this, a more intensive search and rescue operation started on 9 April and lasted for 18 days before being officially called off on 26 April. To date, Mr Lawton remains missing. I am sure that the entire House will appreciate and sympathise with the anguish and sense of frustration and anxiety that Mr Lawton’s family and friends will have felt ever since the day he disappeared.
In these circumstances, expectations of consular staff are extremely high. In the overwhelming majority of cases, consular staff throughout the world perform their duties with care and compassion, doing all they can to help families to keep up to date with developments and get the information they need in order to make properly informed decisions as things progress. The primary role of consular staff is one of welfare: it is to assist, where they can; to obtain information from relevant authorities where possible; and, where appropriate, sometimes to raise more detailed issues with those authorities. What our consular staff cannot do themselves is to investigate missing persons overseas, and, as I know my hon. Friend understands, they cannot instruct the local authorities how they should handle a search or investigation in their own country, just as we would not expect other countries to attempt to instruct us how to carry out a missing person search in the UK.
Consular staff in Greece and London have been very active in this case since Mr Lawton’s disappearance was first reported. On the same day as the report was made, consular staff in Athens were in contact with the local chief of police who was supervising the search, to register our concern and see whether there was any assistance we could offer. The chief of police asked if we could intercede with the central authorities in Athens to try to secure the use of a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment. As a result of the direct intervention of the British embassy in Athens with officials at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such a helicopter was dispatched to the search site during Tuesday 10 April —just over 24 hours after Mr Lawton was officially reported missing.
In the early days of the search, consular staff were able to support some other strands of the search operation, including attempts to locate John Lawton through his mobile phone or through the Garmin watch with GPS facility that he was wearing at the time. Unfortunately, the mobile phone was later found to have been left switched off at his hotel, and the watch could only receive a signal—regrettably, it could not transmit details of Mr Lawton’s location.
Our consul in Athens was also in direct telephone contact with Mr Steve Lawton, John Lawton’s son, on the evening of Easter Monday, and has remained in contact ever since, with a face-to-face meeting when she visited the area on 19 April.
Our embassy staff in Athens maintained regular contact with the Greek authorities at both senior and local operational level in both the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Citizen Protection, which has responsibility for the police and related emergency services, to support the efforts of Steve Lawton himself at the search site. Normal practice in Greece is for such a search to last for 72 hours, as was the case in March this year when a Greek national went missing in the same area. As my hon. Friend acknowledged, in this case—in large part, I believe, as a result of the that high level of contact from our staff—the Greek authorities maintained the search for nearer to three weeks. During that time they deployed a variety of resources, including specially trained search and rescue teams, other manpower—both official and volunteer—and trained dogs and a thermal imaging helicopter.
In the most recent high-level intervention, our ambassador in Athens has spoken to both the Minister and the Deputy Minister for Citizen Protection, acknowledging the efforts of the authorities so far and encouraging them to continue to consider whether there was anything more that they ought to be doing. The Minister confirmed that the investigation should continue, and obviously I will ask our embassy to follow up that conversation in the light of what my hon. Friend has said this evening.
My hon. Friend mentioned some of the findings of the privately commissioned investigation. Having received the report earlier this week, we have passed it on to our ministerial contacts in Greece, together with the family’s request that the search should recommence on the basis of the timeline analysis and the findings of the investigation. I note what my hon. Friend said about the time that it has taken to obtain the results of the DNA test that was promised for the gel samples. As she will understand, I cannot speak with any detailed knowledge of how the system of pathology tests operates in Greece, but I will ask our consular team in Athens to look into the matter as well.
I hope that my hon. Friend and the Lawton family will be reassured that we maintain, and will continue to maintain, a high level of contact with the Greek authorities. Inevitably, given the current economic and political situation in Greece, Ministers and the officials who are political appointees will be preoccupied with the forthcoming general election, but we will continue to do all that we can to maintain the profile of this case with them and with the operational authorities at a more local level.
I am grateful for the fact that my hon. Friend was able to arrange for me to speak directly to Mr Steve Lawton by telephone when he returned to the United Kingdom for a few days to accompany his mother home. That enabled me to explain our role in a little more detail, and to assure him that we would continue to maintain our close contact with the Greek authorities as the case progressed.
I completely understand why the Lawton family and John Lawton’s friends felt frustrated that the Government could not intervene and send UK search specialists to bolster the Greek effort, as we sometimes do in the case of natural disasters overseas. As I said to Mr Lawton when we spoke, it is the Greek authorities that have the local expertise and the legal responsibility and powers in their own country and locality, and they were co-ordinating the search on the ground. Official offers of support from the UK would normally be made only if the local authorities in the country concerned lacked the equipment, resource or experience to conduct a search, and requested such help from us. Those circumstances did not apply in this case. However, in the event that the family, friends or UK search teams wanted to be actively involved in the search on a volunteer basis—either independently or in support of an official search—we would help to facilitate contact with the relevant authorities in Greece if that were asked of us.
We have recently been in contact with the Cheshire search and rescue team in that regard. I understand that it had been invited to continue the search by the Lawton family and the Greek volunteer search teams. Although our assistance was not required in this case, we stand ready to help, should that be required in any similar deployments in future. As my hon. Friend has said, the funding for the Cheshire team has come from the JustGiving page set up by Missing Abroad, a charitable organisation set up by the Lucie Blackman Trust in 2008 to provide practical and in some cases financial support to families and friends of people who have gone missing overseas. Missing Abroad can supplement consular support by offering additional services, including supporting or co-ordinating searches for missing people in other countries. It also provides valuable emotional support to families. FCO consular staff, both in this country and abroad, regularly encourage people to contact Missing Abroad. My Department also provides some funding to Missing Abroad, as its services clearly complement the support that our consular teams offer. Details for Missing Abroad are available via the Foreign Office’s public website and in the FCO publication “Missing persons abroad”.
Let me respond to the point my hon. Friend made about the provision of information. Although there is inevitably an inherent tension between the wish to provide a concise and clear account and the need to provide answers to the detailed questions that families facing many different circumstances might have, we are always keen to learn from the experience of people who unfortunately have to make use of such literature. I would be very happy for my officials to talk directly to my hon. Friend and to members of the Lawton family to see whether improvements could be made in the light of the experience in this case.
The main help that the FCO can give in such cases is to assist families in understanding how systems work in other countries—although we cannot provide professional legal advice—to liaise with local authorities where necessary and, if appropriate, to act as a bridge between those authorities and families. That is the kind of support that our staff in Crete have provided to the family of Mr Steven Cook, in the other case that my hon. Friend mentioned. Steven’s family have been in close contact with consular staff in Crete since he first went missing in 2005.
I freely acknowledge that our efforts and those of the Greek authorities will never be enough for as long as Mr John Lawton remains missing. I believe that our consular staff have worked hard to provide the family with consular assistance during every stage of the case. More important, we stand ready to continue to offer support to the family and to maintain our contact with the Greek authorities for as long as necessary.
Question put and agreed to.
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Irish Protocol)
David Lidington Excerpts(12 years ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
An intergovernmental conference was convened yesterday, 16 May 2012, in the margins of Coreper, to sign the protocol put forward by the Irish Government during negotiations on the treaty of Lisbon. The protocol will need also to be ratified by all 27 member states before it can be attached to the treaty on the functioning of the European Union and the treaty on European Union.
In the UK, under the European Union Act 2011, the Minister must lay a statement before Parliament under section 5 of the Act as to whether, in the Minister’s opinion, the protocol falls within section 4 of the Act—cases which attract a referendum. The 2011 Act also requires primary legislation to approve the protocol before the UK can ratify it. The statement will be laid within the two-month period specified in the Act and primary legislation will be introduced in due course.
Foreign Affairs Council and Development Foreign Affairs Council
David Lidington Excerpts(12 years ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will attend the Foreign Affairs Council on 14 May. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development will attend the Development Foreign Affairs Council also on 14 May. Both meetings will be held in Brussels and will be chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland.
Foreign Affairs Council (FAC)
Afghanistan
Building on commitments made at the Bonn conference in December, Ministers will consider what support the EU can provide towards civil policing in Afghanistan, looking forward to the NATO Chicago summit later this month. Ministers will also look forward to the Tokyo conference in July, where the international community will focus on ensuring the viability of the Afghan state.
This will also be an opportunity for Ministers, through agreed conclusions, to welcome the progress made in Afghanistan and reaffirm the EU’s commitment to supporting a stable and secure Afghanistan. We expect there to be a reference to making a commitment to an inclusive political process reflecting the views of all Afghans, including civil society and women. The conclusions are also likely to emphasise the importance of the Afghan Government making progress on governance and rule of law, including tackling corruption.
Middle East Peace Process
We are seeking conclusions that will reaffirm the EU’s position, that the changes across the Arab world underline the need for progress on the middle east peace process. We expect the conclusions to welcome the exchange of letters between the parties initiated on 17 April; and to call on the parties to pursue actions toward creating the environment of confidence necessary to ensure meaningful negotiations, and refrain from actions that undermine the credibility of the process.
Southern Neighbourhood
Ministers will review developments in Syria, Libya and Algeria.
On Syria, Ministers will take stock of the latest situation on the ground, following Kofi Annan’s expected briefing of the UNSC on 8 May.
On Libya, some partners may call for the EU to increase its post-conflict efforts in Libya, stressing the importance of the EU delegation being fully staffed and the EU playing a central role in co-ordinating member states’ input to the stabilisation effort.
We expect Ministers to follow up the EU monitoring report of Algeria’s parliamentary elections of 10 May. As well as reforms to Algeria’s constitution, the discussion is likely to cover the EU’s engagement with Algeria over the EU-Algeria association agreement. We see Algeria’s engagement, along with those of other countries in the region, as being an important factor in bringing stability, development, and economic prosperity to the region.
Mexico
There is likely to be a brief discussion of plans for the EU-Mexico summit, which will take place in the margins of the Los Cabos G20 summit scheduled for the 18-19 June. We support EU engagement with Mexico, which is a valued and important international partner.
Russia
Ministers will review the EU’s relations with Russia following President Putin’s inauguration and ahead of the EU-Russia summit in St Petersburg on 3 and 4 June.
Ukraine
Ministers will discuss the situation in Ukraine, including the continuing use of selective justice. They will consider the need to ensure free and fair parliamentary elections in October, and the importance of Ukraine making progress on a commonly agreed reform agenda. The discussion takes place against a backdrop of heightened tensions over the Euro 2012 competition, and the treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko.
Development FAC
Council Conclusions on Agenda for Change and Budget Support
We expect Ministers to adopt the Council conclusions for both the Agenda for Change and The Future of EU Budget Support with limited discussion. The coalition Government welcome both sets of conclusions and have ensured a strong focus on poverty reduction, results, increased transparency and value for money throughout.
2012 Annual Report on EU Develo pment Aid Targets
Ministers will discuss the findings of the Commission’s annual report 2012 on EU development aid targets. Council conclusions are expected to be adopted welcoming the report. The discussion is likely to focus on how to achieve the EU aid commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on aid by 2015.
This report is welcome as a means to hold other member states to account and the coalition Government will continue to press others to fulfil their aid commitments.
Burma
Ministers will discuss the current situation in Burma. This will be an opportunity to set the direction for a properly planned and co-ordinated step-up in aid to Burma in response to the recent reforms.
Rio+20
Development Ministers may discuss Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development.
Council Conclusions on food security under the Horn of Africa initiative
Commissioner Piebalgs will present the Commission’s approach to SHARE (Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience). The Council will adopt conclusions welcoming the approach and recognising the importance of support to build resilience in the horn of Africa.
Council Conclusions on Policy Coherence for Development (PCD)
Council conclusions will be adopted by Ministers with no discussion.
State of play on Joint Programming
Commissioner Piebalgs will present the latest situation in regards to joint programming. The coalition Government believe that any incentives for improved EU co-ordination, including joint programming approaches, need to come out of country-led processes, ongoing partnership discussions and must be owned by the partner country. We will not accept any Brussels-led processes.
International Family Planning
The Secretary of State for International Development will update the Council on the plans of the coalition Government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address the urgent need for increased access to family planning in developing countries. The UK will be holding a global summit in London on 11 July 2012.
Belarus
David Lidington Excerpts(12 years ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
Since the mass protests against the conduct of the Belarusian presidential election on 19 December 2010, the Belarusian Government have tightened their authoritarian grip on the country. Hundreds of people have been punished for taking part in peaceful protests, with many human rights defenders, and opposition politicians and activists detained. As a result, the EU re-imposed sanctions against the Government of Belarus in January 2011, and expanded and extended the measures throughout 2011.
On 28 February 2012, the EU imposed further sanctions. On the same day, the Belarusian Government asked the Head of the EU delegation and the Polish ambassador in Minsk to return to their capitals for consultations. In response to this act, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary approved the recall of Her Majesty’s ambassador to Minsk as part of a co-ordinated withdrawal by EU ambassadors.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary chose to recall our ambassador to make it clear that Belarus’ treatment of the Polish ambassador and Head of the EU delegation was unacceptable. That point has now been made; both ambassadors were able to return to Belarus unhindered yesterday. Her Majesty’s Ambassador will therefore return to Minsk in short order, along with her colleagues from other EU member states. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have instructed her to continue to press the Belarusian Government for the immediate release of all political prisoners without condition.
Foreign Affairs Council and General Affairs Council
David Lidington Excerpts(12 years, 1 month ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will attend the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 April. I will attend the General Affairs Council on 24 April. Both meetings will be held in Luxembourg.
Foreign Affairs Council (FAC)
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, will chair the Foreign Affairs Council.
Burma
We expect conclusions that recognise positive progress in Burma against the EU benchmarks agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council of 23 January. These benchmarks include the release of political prisoners, a number of initial ceasefire agreements with some ethnic groups, and the generally positive conduct of by-elections on 1 April. We will also push for the suspension of EU sanctions except those relating to export of military equipment. The Prime Minister set out our approach during his visit to Burma of 13 April.
The conclusions may make reference to remaining issues, such as the lack of humanitarian access to conflict areas and a number of remaining political prisoners. We would also like the conclusions to stress that any commercial engagement by EU companies should promote the highest standards of integrity and corporate social responsibility.
Syria
We are working for conclusions that give the EU’s full support to the UN advance monitoring mission to Syria and to UN Security Council Resolution 2042. Agreed on 14 April, the resolution authorises an advance monitoring mission and calls on the Syrian Government to implement urgently and comprehensively Kofi Annan’s six-point plan. We may also work for a further round of EU sanctions on the regime to be adopted at the FAC should we decide further pressure on the regime is appropriate
Afghanistan
We expect Ministers to discuss EU support for Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) ahead of the NATO Chicago summit and the Tokyo conference on development in Afghanistan. We want the EU to make a significant contribution to the ANSF and Afghanistan’s development needs.
Sahel /Mali
We expect Ministers to be presented with conclusions reiterating the EU’s support for the economic community of west African states-led (ECOWAS) response to last month’s coup d’état in Mali. The conclusions should also reiterate the importance of implementing the EU’s strategy for security and development in the Sahel, including the common security and defence policy (CSDP) mission to Niger. We want the EU to reaffirm its support for the prompt regional response to the coup that led to the inauguration of an interim civilian President on 12 April. We also want to record our concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the north of the country where, in the absence of state control, Tuareg insurgents, some with links to al-Qaeda, have taken control of key cities.
Middle East Peace Process
We expect a substantive discussion on the middle east peace process, with a particular focus on the settlements and area C. Baroness Ashton is likely to brief on the recent Quartet Principals’ meeting.
Iran
Baroness Ashton will brief Ministers following E3+3 (UK, France, Germany, US, China and Russia) talks with Iran in Istanbul on 14 April. We will underline that we welcome this new round of engagement and that Iran must urgently take concrete and practical steps to restore international confidence in the nature of their nuclear programme.
General Affairs Council (GAC)
The GAC will be chaired by the Danish EU presidency.
There are two main items on the GAC agenda in April: the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) and cohesion policy. The first will be a discussion on resources for structural and cohesion funds and the common agricultural policy (CAP), and text for the negotiating box in headings 1 and 2 of the budget. The presidency intend for the negotiating box to establish parameters for the 2014-20 multi-annual financial framework discussions at June European Council. The second will be on cohesion policy. The presidency seek agreement of a partial general approach on elements of the package of regulations published by the Commission in October. The package of regulations establishes how cohesion funding is allocated, how the funds are used and the rules that govern their use.
My overriding objective for the discussions on the MFF will be for the negotiating box to reflect the UK’s objective of delivering a restrained EU budget, limited to a real-terms freeze. Within a restrained budget, a greater share should be seen in priority areas (such as external action, research and climate change).
On structural and cohesion funds, we have a principled position that supports targeting of funds to poorer member states and regions where they are needed most and can offer the most value for money. We oppose any extension of macro-economic conditionality (the proposal for which allows the Commission to suspend all or part of structural and cohesion fund payment if effective action to meet macro-economic goals is not taken). There should also be a very substantial reduction in the size of the CAP budget with a higher proportion of CAP for projects which offer benefits to the wider society such as climate change reduction and away from market distorting subsidies.
On cohesion policy, the partial general approach should cover aspects of how the funds are used, including ex-ante conditionality, which establish requirements to be met before member states can receive structural and cohesion funds; and monitoring and evaluation, which ensure that the funds have been used as intended.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Lidington Excerpts(12 years, 1 month ago)
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Mrs Jenny Chapman (Darlington) (Lab)
5. What reports he has received on the conduct of recent presidential elections in the Russian Federation.
The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, while giving a positive overall assessment of voting on election day, identified problems with unequal campaign conditions and serious limitations on voter choice.
Mrs Chapman
I am grateful to the Minister for his answer. Does he know whether the Prime Minister raised the issue of electoral irregularities with President Putin when he called to congratulate him on his election victory?
Mr Lidington
We raise with Russian leaders and Russian officials, at every opportunity, our concerns about human rights in their country, and we have certainly raised with the Government of Russia our concerns about how the presidential elections, and indeed last year’s parliamentary elections, were conducted.
Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)
Following the results of the Russian elections, does my right hon. Friend anticipate any change in Russian policy towards the oil and gas producing countries of the South Caucasus? What can the British Government do to further broaden and deepen our relationships with those countries?
Mr Lidington
We continue to press for reconciliation between Russia and Georgia following the conflict between those two countries, but we are firm in our belief that that has to be achieved in a way that recognises Georgia’s territorial integrity.
Mr Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)
17. The Minister mentioned the OSCE report. It also said that irregularities occurred in up to a third of the polling stations in the Russian Federation. What representations have the Government made to the European Union for it, in turn, to put pressure on Russia to address the situation?
Mr Lidington
I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that he needs to acknowledge that there are limits to the leverage that the UK alone and the EU collectively have with Russia. However, we always ensure, both bilaterally and in European conversations, that the central importance of human rights and respect for democratic processes is brought home to our Russian interlocutors.
Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) (Con)
7. What discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the situation in Syria; and if he will make a statement.
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)
T3. My constituent John Lawton has been missing in Greece since Easter Sunday. He was competing in a marathon. He passed through the fourth checkpoint and has not been seen since. This is very distressing for his wife, Lynda, and son, Steve, who are out in Greece and with whom I am in regular contact. Can the Minister assure me and the Lawton family that everything possible is being done by the Government to support the family and to make sure that everything possible is being done by the Greek authorities at the highest level to ensure the widest possible search, and that the family receive support on the ground from the British embassy?
The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
May I first express my sympathy to the Lawton family at what must be an incredibly traumatic time for them? I spoke to our ambassador in Athens this morning about this case. My understanding is that our embassy has been in regular contact with both the Lawton family in Greece and the Greek authorities at every level, from ministerial to operational police level. I am very willing to offer a meeting between our consular team in Greece and the Lawton family members who are there, and I am also very happy to meet the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, our hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr Djanogly), in order to discuss the case further.
Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)
T5. Following the recent sudden death of the President of Malawi and the peaceful and constitutional succession of Joyce Banda as the new President, what assessment has the Minister made of the prospects now for full diplomatic representation in Malawi and the resumption of the direct foreign aid that is so important to so many people in that very poor country?
Parliamentary Written Question (Correction)
David Lidington Excerpts(12 years, 1 month ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
I regret to inform the House that there was an inaccuracy in the answer I gave to parliamentary question 85078 about staff pay to the hon. Member for Harrow West (Mr Thomas), 8 December 2011, Official Report, column 455W. The correct answer is:
Following my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s announcement of an urgent review of public appointments, to determine the extent of arrangements whereby the tax position is (or perceived to be) minimised, the FCO is undertaking a full review, including of our arm’s length bodies, to assess all our payroll arrangements. Full details of the review will be reported to the Cabinet Office.
Public Records (Colonial Documents)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
In my statement to the House on 5 December 2011, Official Report, column 6WS, about the colonial administration files held by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), I informed the House that the first batch of files would be available at the National Archives (TNA) in April 2012. I am pleased to be able to confirm that those files will be open to the public from 18 April.
This first batch will include files from Aden, Anguilla, Bechuanaland, Brunei, British Indian Ocean Territories, Sarawak, Seychelles and Malaya as well as the first tranche of papers from Basutoland, Bahamas, Kenya and Cyprus.
Following the schedule approved by Professor Badger, the independent reviewer for the migrated archives of colonial administration files, the remaining files will be released progressively over the next 20 months. A timetable has been published on the FCO’s website. The aim is to have all the material available for public view at the National Archives at Kew by the end of 2013.
Foreign Affairs Council and General Affairs Council
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will attend the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on 23 March. I will attend the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 26 March.
Meeting with EU candidate countries
Ahead of the FAC, on the 22 March, EU Ministers are due to meet their counterparts from EU candidate countries: Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. They are scheduled to discuss Afghanistan, Pakistan and the southern neighbourhood.
On Afghanistan, we want the EU and its partners to send a strong message of the international community’s enduring commitment to Afghanistan’s security and economic viability beyond 2014 in build up to the forthcoming NATO Chicago summit and Tokyo development conference.
On Pakistan, we will want to stress the important role it has to play in bringing stability to Afghanistan as the importance of the EU’s relationship with Pakistan in its own right.
The discussion on the southern neighbourhood is likely to be broad. It comes soon after the UN Security Council debate of 12 March, “The Situation in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities”, where the Foreign Secretary sought to refocus efforts on transition and the Arab spring. The discussion may also cover Libya and the issue of mistreatment of detainees and Egypt where there are concerns about the pace of transition to civilian government.
Foreign Affairs Council (FAC)
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, will chair the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 March.
Belarus
We expect Ministers to consider further sanctions against Belarus in response to the continued detention of political prisoners. Formal conclusions may also be agreed, and Ministers may discuss the political and human rights situation in Belarus.
Syria
We are seeking a thirteenth-round of EU sanctions against Syria. Ministers may also consider conclusions reinforcing our messages on humanitarian assistance and on support to the UN Secretary-General’s special representative, Kofi Annan. Ministers are also likely to discuss the next Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul, in the first week of April.
Sahel
Ministers are likely to be to be presented with draft conclusions on the Sahel and proposals for a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) mission to be launched in Niger in 2012. Recent developments in the Sahel—including violence in northern Mali, proliferation of weapons, increasing terrorist activity and a deteriorating humanitarian situation—underline the scope and scale of the challenges faced by countries in the region and the importance of helping to build their institutional capacity.
Iran
Although Iran is not yet a formal agenda item, we expect Ashton to update Ministers on the E3 (UK, France and Germany) +3 (US, China and Russia) response to the latest Iranian letter on nuclear negotiations.
Ministers may also discuss the disturbing human rights situation in Iran following the 8 March report of the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran to the Human Rights Council. EU member states are expected to review and agree to new designations of human rights violators in Iran.
Lunch with Turkish Foreign Minister
The Turkish Foreign Minister is scheduled to attend the FAC lunch where we expect Ministers to discuss a range of regional issues, including Syria. Baroness Ashton may also provide an update on recent developments in the middle east peace process, including informal Quartet consultations. This discussion is not expected to lead to formal conclusions—which are instead expected at the subsequent FAC in April.
General Affairs Council (GAG)
The GAC will be chaired by the Danish EU presidency.
There are two main items on the GAC agenda in March. The first is follow-up to the March European Council.
The conclusions of the March European Council meeting can be found at: http://www.european-council. europa.eu/council-meetings/conclusions.aspx
The second substantive item is the multi-annual financial framework, where there will be a stock-take of progress made in technical working groups and a discussion on:
Heading One A: Competitiveness for growth and employment, consisting of research and innovation programmes, education, training, trans-European networks, social policy programmes economic integration and accompanying policies.
Heading Three: Citizenship, freedom, security and justice, which includes programmes such as training for legal professionals; strengthening networks, cross-border co-operation on enforcement; information and raising public awareness.
Heading Four: EU as a global player which helps to deliver on global poverty reduction, building stability and security beyond the borders of the EU, specifically in the European neighbourhood and fragile states, supporting the EU’s prosperity agenda with emerging economies and tackling global climate change.
Heading Five: Administration; which mostly constitutes staff salaries and the upkeep of the EU institutions’ estates.
This discussion will inform the drafting of the ‘negotiating box’ which will help to establish the ceilings for all of the headings in the multi-annual financial framework. The negotiating box is like a set of Council conclusions, and though this document is not binding it seeks to establish a set of parameters for the negotiation. My overriding objective will be to ensure that the negotiating box reflects restraint and leads to a final budget that reflects the fiscal consolidation that is being undertaken at home.