§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the report of the study group on the role of public finance in European148W integration chaired by Sir Donald MacDougall, published in 1977; and what are his conclusions on its findings on the effect on the size of the European Community budget, in the event of the creation of a single currency. [27671]
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryThe MacDougall report was an early attempt to assess the role of the public finances in European integration. Its analysis reflected the thinking of the 1970s. The Government do not endorse its conclusions or its recommendation that the EC budget should grow to some five to seven per cent. of EC GDP to be compatible with monetary union. There is no provision in the Maastricht treaty for any such expansion of the EC budget and the Government remain committed to the firm ceilings on EC spending agreed at Edinburgh.