§ 32. Mr. Oramasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he makes of the size of the British contribution to the European Development Fund; and to what extent this will be affected by the Commission's proposal that the fund shall be financed out of the Community's budget.
§ Mr. WoodThe size of any future European Development Fund will mainly depend on the number and size of its beneficiaries, which will be known only after the negotiations which begin on 1st August. I therefore cannot yet estimate the size of the British contribution. The Commission's proposal on financing would mean that Britain's contribution278W to the fund's disbursements would be related to its overall annual budgetary contribution.