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Inter-Parliamentary Scrutiny (EU Foreign, Defence and Security Policy)

My hon. Friend is quite right. There is also the question of Albania, which is to be resolved but which is one of the issues that the Speakers' conference will have to address. I leave it to the Minister to set out the Government's position, but I will say that the Minister for Europe participated in several of the meetings that I have held with my colleagues on this issue. I thank him for his co-operation, and thank his officials for their help. When national Governments disbanded the WEU, they also effectively withdrew their funding and left Parliaments responsible for finding the resources that would enable them to continue their inter-parliamentary scrutiny. In formulating our proposals for a successor, we have had our eye very much on the international budgetary situation, and the need to have scrutiny while setting that against considerations of cost and the risk of being seen to be establishing a new EU talking shop. Keeping costs to a minimum has been a guiding principle of our proposals, and that underpins our wish to see as much as possible done through existing institutions, the national Parliaments and the COSAC secretariat. That is the approach that the Foreign Affairs Committee considers appropriate, and I urge the House to support the motion.