EEC MEMBERSHIP AND THE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

HL Deb 05 December 1974 vol 355 cc399-400WA

Lord O'HAGAN

asked Her Majesty's Government:

To what extent the United Kingdom's balance of payments deficit is attributable to British membership of the EEC.

Lord JACQUES

As the noble Lord will be aware from Answers to his previous Questions on this subject, membership of the European Community has probably affected the United Kingdom balance of payments in a number of different ways. It is not possible to quantify all of these, nor to separate their impact from that of a number of other factors including increases in oil and other commodity prices, movements in exchange rates, and the relative rates of price inflation in industrial countries. The United Kingdom's balance of trade with the EEC, along with the balance of trade with the rest of the world, has deteriorated substantially since the beginning of 1973.

What is the increase in immigration from each of the member States of the EEC since British accession.

The MINISTER of STATE, HOME OFFICE (Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH)

The figures show a general decrease: