HC Deb 07 December 1990 vol 182 cc213-4W
Mr. David Martin

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.

Mr. Maude

The ECOFIN Council met in Brussels on 3 December. The Minister for Corporate Affairs and I represented the United Kingdom.

Further progress was made in discussions of the investment services directive and the money laundering directive was also discussed. These directives will both return to the Council for further consideration on 17 December.

Over lunch there was a brief discussion of organisational issues in preparation for the intergovernmental conference on economic and monetary union. The possibility of additional assistance for the countries of eastern Europe and the Soviet Union was also raised. This will be discussed further at a special meeting of ECOFIN to be held on 10 December.

The arrangements for VAT controls after 1992 were also discussed and I explained that our consultations with industry were not yet complete. The Council heard statements from Germany and the Commission on the fiscal aspects of road transport.

There was a short discussion of a Commission paper concerning the debt of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries accrued under previous Lome conventions. It was agreed that this should be considered further by ECOFIN in the new year.

The Council also discussed a further report from the presidency on negotiations with the European Parliament about revisions to the financial perspective arising from German unification and the Gulf crisis.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest informal meeting of the European Community's economic and finance ministers.

Mr. Norman Lamont

The Economic and Finance Ministers and central bank governors of the European Community met informally in Milan on 2 December. The Governor of the Bank of England and I represented the United Kingdom.

The meeting began with a discussion of the state of the world economy and the possible need for additional assistance for the countries of eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The chairman of the Committee of Central Bank Governors presented the committee's draft statutes for a European system of central banks, which will be published shortly. I repeated our reserve on the imposition of a single currency and a European central bank. I emphasised, however, our hope and expectation that an agreement on economic and monetary union would be reached which would be acceptable to all members of the Community.

There was also a short discussion of the economic situation in Greece.