§ 1. Mr. KnoxTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next proposes to have discussions with the European Community Council of Ministers about European monetary matters.
§ The Paymaster General (Mr. Peter Brooke)At an informal meeting of European Community Finance Ministers in Germany on 14 and 15 May.
§ Mr. KnoxIn his discussions with his European counterparts, will my right hon. Friend confirm that it is Government policy to continue to try to achieve the maximum possible exchange rate stability?
§ Mr. BrookeI have no doubt that my right hon. Friend will continue to say the same sort of things to his colleagues on the continent as he has before.
§ Mr. BeithWill the time ever be right for Britain to join the European monetary system as long as this Government are in power?
§ Mr. BrookeAs the hon. Gentleman knows, that matter is kept under continual review. The Government will join when they think the time is right.
§ Mr. John BrowneIn his discussions, will my right hon. Friend agree to put a proposal to his fellow Ministers that, with the advent of the single European market, with the free movement of labour, goods, services and capital, we shall have the economic conditions that will allow us to have a single European currency instead of the composite currency that now exists in the form of the ecu? Will he remind his fellow Ministers that in the United States the dollar encompasses 52 states, each with a different tax regime, so there is no need to wait for European tax harmonisation? Will he also remind them that each year about £2 billion is made by foreign exchange dealers dealing in European currencies alone?
§ Mr. BrookeMy hon. Friend advances a visionary idea, but I doubt whether my right hon. Friend will say that to his colleagues this weekend.
§ Mr. John SmithIn relation to European and other exchange rates, what is the Chancellor's exchange rate policy? We were told that the pound would be aligned with the deutschmark when it was below Dm3, since when the level of the pound has consistently risen, despite the Chancellor constantly telling us that each rise is unsustainable. As the Chancellor told The Wall Street Journal yesterday that the pound should continue to be aligned to the deutschmark, at what level should it be so aligned? Or has he been elbowed aside by the Prime Minister, and is it now his policy that it is unsustainable?
§ Mr. BrookeThe right hon. and learned Gentleman has asked me a long question. There is a long answer to it in my right hon. Friend's evidence to the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee.