TNAG-2710-FCO40-3916-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-and-Par-1993 — Page 83

THE QUEEN'S SPEECH

The Queen, accompanied by HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, went in State to the Palace of Westminster and opened the new Session of Parliament on May 6th 1992. The following is the text of the Queen's Speech.

My Lords and Members of the House of Commons.

I look forward with great pleasure to receiving the state visits of His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei and Her Majesty the Raja Isteri in November and His Excellency the President of the Portuguese Republic and Senhora Soares in 1993.

I look forward to my forthcoming visit to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe at Strasbourg, and to my visit to Malta later this month, France and Canada in June and Germany in October.

My government attach the highest importance to national security. They will continue to give full support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and will work with our allies to adapt it to changing risks. They will aim to develop the Western European Union as a means of strengthening the European pillar of the alliance and the defence component of the European Union. The United Kingdom's armed forces are being restructured to reflect these changes. Britain's minimum nuclear deterrent will be maintained.

My government will work for a comprehensive and verifiable ban on chemical weapons, to prevent the proliferation of biological weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and to encourage greater international responsibility in conventional arms transfers. They will help the Russian Federation in the task of dismantling surplus nuclear weapons.

My government will work to strengthen the United Nations. They will require full Iraqi compliance with Security Council resolutions. They will work for a peaceful settlement in Yugoslavia. They will support moves to bring lasting peace to the Middle East. They will lay before Parliament the Treaty of Maastricht and introduce a bill to implement it.

My government look forward to welcoming the European Council at our Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh towards the end of the United Kingdom's presidency of the community in December. During the presidency, my government will attach particular priority to enlargement of the community and completion of the single market. They will promote sound finance and budgetary discipline. With our community partners they will continue to strive for a successful conclusion to the Gatt trade negotiations, and to press for changes in the Common Agricultural Policy.

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