asked Her Majesty's Government:

On what occasions in the last year they have raised (a) religious freedoms, and (b) freedom of speech, with the three candidate countries for membership of the European Union, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey; and what were the outcomes of these discussions.[HL7247]

We have not raised religious freedoms or freedom of speech with Romania or Bulgaria in the last year. We have, however, raised our concerns on a number of occasions in the last year with the Turkish Government on these issues and continue to press for further progress. Turkey remains committed to meeting the Copenhagen political criteria and will be subject to intense scrutiny throughout accession negotiations.