Asked by: Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of corruption in the Seychelles and the consequent effect on the UK's and International Monetary Fund's financial commitments to that country.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
Transparency International ranked Seychelles as the 47th least corrupt country globally in their 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index. This was an improvement of four places from 2012. The UK does not provide direct financial assistance to Seychelles but contributes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) whose support has enabled the country to enact a comprehensive program of economic reforms since 2008. The IMF has robust systems in place to ensure the proper use of assistance given to the Government of Seychelles.
Asked by: Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many interception warrants were (a) issued, (b) declined and (c) cancelled by his Department under (i) section 8(1) and (ii) section 8(4) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in the last six months for which figures are available.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
It is the long standing policy of successive Governments not to comment on matters of intelligence. I would refer the Hon. Member to Section 3 of the 2013 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner, The Rt Hon. Sir Anthony May, which was presented to Parliament pursuant of Section 58(6) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Asked by: Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with the Russian government on the right to self-determination of people in the North Caucasus.
Answered by David Lidington
I have not specifically discussed the right to self-determination of people in the North Caucasus with the Russian government. However, this Government regularly raises concerns about the human rights situation in Russia with the Russian government. Concerns about the human rights situation in the North Caucasus were included in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2013 Annual Human Rights Report.
Asked by: Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Russian annexation of Crimea on the Moldovan government's commitment to signing an Association Agreement with the EU.
Answered by David Lidington
The Government of the Republic of Moldova began to negotiate an Association Agreement with the EU in January 2010. Negotiations concluded in June 2013 and the text was initialled at the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2013. Throughout this period, the Moldovan government has been clear in its wish to achieve signature of the Association Agreement as early as possible. This position has not changed in recent weeks.
The Conclusions of the European Council held on 20 and 21 March 2014 confirmed the aim of the EU to sign the Association Agreement no later than June 2014. The UK is working with our European partners to ensure the conditions are in place to meet this deadline, including through the appropriate Parliamentary scrutiny.
The UK supports Moldova's choice of European integration, which will help to bring greater stability, prosperity and democracy to all Moldovan citizens. We have been clear in dealing with Russia that Moldova should be able to make its own choices, including on European integration, without pressure from third countries.