I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 13 together.
On 15 April the Luxembourg Presidency submitted a composite text to the Intergovernmental Conference on Political Union. The draft text lists possible amendments to the Treaty of Rome on the main issues being considered by the conference. These issues fall into three specific categories.
First, there are amendments to the Treaty of Rome in the areas of environment, research and development, social policy, health, education, culture, trans-European networks and consumer protection.
Second, there are the proposals regarding a common foreign and security policy, and finally, there is the issue of intergovernmental co-operation in justice and home affairs.
The text draws on the wide range of views and proposals put forward by member states and by the Commission in the course of the first stage of the discussions. In order to facilitate discussion during the second stage, the Presidency has attempted to produce a text which, in its opinion, reflects majority views. The Presidency text is a working document and the Presidency has made it clear that it is not to be seen as a compromise proposal. The Government consider it to be a useful contribution to the conference — a document which will focus discussions and help to move them toward an eventual consensus. It is, however, very much a working document and is subject to constant amendment and revision to take account of the views expressed by member states and the Commission. Further amendments to the text will be both inevitable and necessary before we reach a final agreement.
We are still at an early stage in the second round of negotiations. At ministerial level, our discussions have concentrated almost exclusively on common foreign and security policy and on the future role of the European Parliament in the legislative process of the Community. It was not until last week that we had our first very general discussion on a number of other items including economic and social cohesion.
I can assure the House that the Government are participating and will continue to participate actively in the detailed examination of the draft Treaty with the aim of ensuring that our concerns and interests are reflected in the new Treaty. In submitting texts of draft articles to the Conference we must judge whether such contributions would be helpful to our interests and likely to gain general support from other member states. Our endeavours are now channelled into seeking to strengthen the articles to which we attach importance.
Finally, we are pleased that the text already reflects the language of proposals which we tabled at an earlier stage of the Conference on health, education and economic and social cohesion. Copies of these have been laid in the Library of the House.