To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the assize of European parliamentarians comprising 50 per cent. Members of the European Parliament and 50 per cent. national Members of Parliament, scheduled to be held in Italy in the autumn, setting out what knowledge he may have of its status, the terms and conditions under which it is established, how it is to be funded and the authority and standing of any conclusions that it may reach.

We understand that the Italian Chamber of Deputies has agreed to host the meeting with national parliaments in Rome in October which had been advocated by the European Parliament. The European Parliament has not yet made clear what organisational or financial arrangements it proposes. Such a meeting would enjoy no status under the treaty and the authority of any conclusions reached would derive from the support of those present.