European Commission: Payments to Interest Groups (Hansard, 4 June 1990)

§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth office (Lord Brabazon of Tara)
My Lords, payments were made to 298 interest groups last year. A list of the payments made has been placed in the Library of the House.

§ Lord Jay
My Lords, can the Minister explain why those organisations have to be subsidised with public money, part of which comes from the British taxpayer?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, they are thought to be worthy interest groups which receive funds. They comprise an extremely wide variety of groups such as the YMCA and the Edinburgh Faculty of Actuaries. Much the largest payment—three-quarters of the total—was made to the International Fund for Ireland.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, can the noble Lord go a step further and say precisely what criteria must be satisfied before grants are paid by the Commission to those interest groups? Secondly, can he say whether the Community's new anti-fraud unit has made any recommendations with regard to those grants?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, as regards the criteria, each annual budget is discussed by national representatives of the budget committee before being agreed. Secondly, the Court of Auditors conducts a thorough ex post examination of the Commission's budget management.
As regard the anti-fraud unit, I cannot say whether that is involved but a revised financial regulation came into effect in February of this year which, as provided for in the Treaty of Rome, sets out the detailed rules for establishing and implementing the budget. Among other things, the regulation requires objectives to be set for expenditure and that performance should be measured against those objectives.

§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter
My Lords, can my noble friend tell the House what is the definition of an interest group that is a body entitled to receive this benevolence?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, I cannot give a precise definition of that. I only ask my noble friend and other noble Lords who are interested in the subject to look at the list which has been placed in the Library. As I said in my original Answer, some 298 groups received funds. I should explain to noble Lords that the total amounts to some £15 million from the whole of the EC. of that, three-quarters is paid to the International Fund for Ireland. The balance is paid to various different interest groups, some of which receive as little as 1, 000 ecus, which is about £700.

Lord Bruce of Donington
My Lords, those items should be incorporated within the Community budget and in particular within that part of the budget relating to the Commission. Are we to understand that until quite recently this budget and, in particular, the items referred to by my noble friend Lord Jay have not received detailed scrutiny in EC OF IN?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, as I said in answer to the noble Lord, Lord Cledwyn, a revised financial regulation came into effect in February of this year which sets out the detailed rules for establishing and implementing the budget. That regulation requires objectives to be set for expenditure and that performance should be measured against those objectives. I hope that that new regulation will take care of the noble Lord's anxiety.

Lord Bruce of Donington
But, my Lords, that is after 18 years. Can the noble Lord explain what has happened up to February of this year as regards expenditure of this kind?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, no.

§ The Earl of Onslow
My Lords, can my noble friend say why the International Fund for Ireland deserves those immense sums of money and what are its purposes—breeding racehorses perhaps?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, I do not believe that the latter is one of the purposes of the fund although if my noble friend has a case to put, it will perhaps be looked at sympathetically. The International Fund for Ireland is a separate subject but, on the whole, it is thought to be a good thing.

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
My Lords, are any of those organisations political in purpose?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, I believe not, but I shall have to ask the noble Lord to look at the list which I placed in the Library. I have not yet been able to produce a detailed analysis of all 298.

§ The Earl of Onslow
Why, my Lords?

§ Viscount Cross
My Lords, will the Minister say whether the Commission is allowed to contribute to the cost of the proposed new railway line from the mouth of the Channel Tunnel to London?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, not under this particular heading.

§ Lord Jay
My Lords, can the Minister explain why the Edinburgh actuaries are in need of this special help?

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
No, my Lords, I cannot explain. It is not for me to explain. It is for the Edinburgh actuaries to explain that to the Commission to justify their case in advance.