§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response the Council of Ministers has had from the Court of Auditors following the decision of the Council of 9 March to approve an expenditure of 3.2 billion ecu on the disposal of the butter mountain, in light of the published opinion of the Court of Auditors prior to the meeting that such expenditure was unlawful; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeThe Court of Auditors has made no further response to the Council's proposal to delay reimbursement to member states for butter stock disposals. This measure was formally adopted by the Council on 16 March. The Council considered the Court of Auditor's opinion, but decided that delayed reimbursement was justified as an exceptional measure, since it was agreed as part of a package producing genuine and substantial CAP savings.