§ Mr. Matthew BanksTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the recent Council meeting of the Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Union. [9858]
635W
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI represented the UK at the Economic and Finance Council—ECOFIN—of the European Union in Dublin on 12 December.
The Council agreed, subject to a parliamentary scrutiny reserve by the UK, its report on progress towards economic and monetary union, for presentation to the European Council meeting commencing the following day. The report considers the new exchange rale mechanism, the stability and growth pact and the legal framework for the introduction of the euro.
The Council also discussed new guarantee arrangements for the European Investment bank's lending and new regional lending mandates. Agreement was not reached, so the issue will be discussed again at a future ECOFIN meeting.