§ Mr. Martenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the EEC proposal, dated 8th 265W January, Ref. R/20/74 (FIN 6), to amend the conditions for the provision of short-term monetary support.
§ Mr. DellThe EEC short-term credit facility is an arrangement made between the Community central banks, and administered by the Board of the European Monetary Co-operation Fund, to extend credit for not more than six months to members which are in balance of payments difficulties. The proposal referred to was adopted as a Resolution by the Council of Ministers on 18th February 1974, which was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 5th March. This was put into effect by the EMCF Board on 12th March. It has the result of doubling the basic amount each central bank may borrow, quadrupling the amount each central bank is committed to provide and increasing the additional common pool available to borrowers to 1,500 million units of account.