§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he remains satisfied with the terms and conditions on voluntary retirement available to servants of the institutions of the European Community in the light of the need to avoid excessive payments.
§ Mr. JuddWe certainly agree that there is a need to avoid excessive payments. The conditions under which Community officials may retire voluntarily were, of course, established well before United Kingdom accession to the European Communities. They reflect the more 737W generous conditions for retirement prevalent in other member States. However, we would definitely like to see a closer relationship between the practices of the Communities' institutions and our own.