Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of reports from Aung Marm Oo, an ethnic Rakhine journalist in Burma, who is now facing arrest; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
Press freedom and the rule of law are fundamental to any democratic society, and journalists must be allowed to work freely and without intimidation. The British Ambassador has been clear in making this point, and recently raised this case with Burma’s Minister for International Cooperation. The UK will continue to work hard to support media freedom within Myanmar.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the accession of North Macedonia to the EU.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government continues to make clear to its EU counterparts that it views the EU accession process as fundamental to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans. We will continue to support countries committed to the accession process to meet the necessary requirements. This includes Albania and North Macedonia. As and when candidate countries have met the requirements for accession in full, it will be for those countries and European Union members at the time to decide on membership.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the accession of Albania to the EU.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government continues to make clear to its EU counterparts that it views the EU accession process as fundamental to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans. We will continue to support countries committed to the accession process to meet the necessary requirements. This includes Albania and North Macedonia. As and when candidate countries have met the requirements for accession in full, it will be for those countries and European Union members at the time to decide on membership.