HL Deb 28 January 1980 vol 404 cc660-1WA
Lord BRUCE of DONINGTON

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will furnish particulars of those changes in and/or additions to the Financial Mechanisms set out at pages 513/517 of the Preliminary Draft Budget for 1980 (Section III—Commission—Vol. 7(A), which were put forward on behalf of the Commission to the European Council Meeting in Dublin in November 1979, supplemented by illustrative calculations which showed a benefit to the United Kingdom, on application of the revised mechanism, of approximately £350 million.

Lord COCKFIELD

I would refer the noble Lord to paragraphs 12 and 13 of Document 11028/79 which was deposited in the House of Lords Library on 30th November 1979. The estimate of 520 MEUA net (about £350 million) given in paragraph 13 was made by the Commission. The precise amount of the net refund which would be due to the United Kingdom in pounds sterling under the Commission's proposals would depend on several factors, including the size of the Community Budget, the United Kingdom's share of Community GNP, the United Kingdom's share of the following year's Budget when repayment would be made and the exchange rate between the pound and the EUA.