§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
Pursuant to the Department of Health's press release 96/238 of 12th July, UK Mounts Legal Challenge to European Commission over Unauthorised Expenditure, what progress has been made in this matter.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)The Government's legal challenges in the European Court of Justice against proposed European Commission spending on measures to assist the elderly and projects to combat social exclusion are unlikely to be ruled upon until 1998. In addition to these main challenges, further applications for interim measures were made to the court, asking that the Commission be prevented from spending any money until its legal competence to do so had been established. The Government's applications for interim measures were heard on 9 September and subsequently agreed by the President of the European Court of Justice. No payments can now be made until the main judgments have been delivered.