§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will seek to amend the European Communities Act so that matters relating to the expenditure of the European Assembly may be directly accountable to the Council of Ministers.
§ Sir Ian GilmourNo. Under the Community arrangements for the adoption and the administration of the Community Budget, the European Parliament has, within certain limits, control of its own administrative expenditure. Budgetary arrangements are laid down in the Community treaties and cannot be changed by amendment to the European Communities Act 1972. The European Communities Act 1972 provides for the implementation in the United Kingdom of our obligations under the Community treaties, and amendment to it could not bind our partners or the European Parliament.