asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will support at the European Economic Community Council on 17 December the Commission proposal for a mandatory European Economic Community regulation to prohibit the import of baby seal products.

I hope that the Council of Environment Ministers will agree Community-wide measures when it reconvenes on Friday. The Commission's present proposal would, however, transfer responsibility for action on moral grounds from national Governments to Brussels, and for that reason an alternative approach may be preferred by the Council.