asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will ask the European Union Commissioner for Enlargement to comment, in his forthcoming report on Turkey's progress towards compliance with the Copenhagen criteria for membership of the European Union, on the blocking by a Turkish court of the website of Richard Dawkins, professor for the public understanding of science at the University of Oxford. [HL5359]

We expect the European Commission to provide its annual report in November 2008 on Turkey's progress towards EU accession. As part of this report, we would expect the Commission to rigorously assess political and judicial developments and reforms in Turkey and to identify any areas, including freedom of expression, where further efforts are needed to ensure full compliance with the Copenhagen criteria and EU legislation.