§ Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his latest estimate of the financial effects upon the Community when (a) Portugal and (b) Spain join the European Community.
§ Mr. HurdIt is generally accepted that both Spain and Portugal will be net recipients from the Community502W budget. Their actual net receipts after accession will depend on the outcome of the accession and other negotiations in progress, not the least on Mediterranean agriculture. Commission estimates on the basis of the 1981 budget hypothetically extended to a Community of Twelve with no allowance for transitional arrangements or other changes in the Community's policies or financial arrangements are that the two countries' net receipts taken together would have been of the order of 850–1,400 mecus—£500 million to £820 million at the current exchange rate of 1.70 ecu to the pound.