Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 March 2010.

European Commission: General Report 2009

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the European Commission's General Report on the Activities of the European Union for 2009 devotes three sentences to "war, refugees and forgotten crises" and does not mention the war in Lebanon in 2006 or the blockade of Gaza by Israel.

Answer: The report is the responsibility of the Commission and not of member states. However, it does include comment on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. And as an annual report it is unsurprising that it does not cover the Lebanon war in 2006. In other sections the report draws attention to EU humanitarian funding (page 65) some of which is apportioned to both Gaza and Lebanon, and to the EU Election Observation Mission to Lebanon (page 63). The Foreign Affairs Council comments frequently on these issues, most recently on Gaza in its December conclusions.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 2702; 718 c184WA
Session: 2009-10
Subjects: Armed conflict EU action Israel European Commission Palestine Middle East Lebanon Gaza
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk