asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will propose to the German Presidency of the European Union that member states of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe be invited to adhere to any European Union agreement on the control of arms trafficking and brokering which may be reached as a result of current German initiatives; and whether they will seek to place this matter on the agenda for the OSCE summit meeting in Istanbul in November 1999. [HL2720]

Discussions of the German proposals for EU member states to impose uniform controls on arms trafficking and brokering are still at an early stage. We will consider closer to the time of any EU agreement whether and how to seek to broaden adherence to it.