§ Mr. Peter Bottomleyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the meeting of the European Community Finance Council in Brussels on 16 March.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweThe Finance Council met under Netherlands Presidency.
There was a further discussion of the economic and financial aspects of the agricultural price fixing. My German colleague and I argued strongly for a cautious price policy and sought a resolution requiring the future growth of agricultural guarantee expenditure to be markedly below the growth in the own resources base. No agreement was reached, but there is likely to be a further discussion in April.
After discusssing the draft insurance services directive, which would give insurers freedom to operate across frontiers within the Community, the Council confirmed the importance it attaches to making this freedom effective. Officials were instructed to prepare a report on the main issues for discussion at the May Fin ance Council.
The Council also carried out one of its regular reviews of the economic situation in the Community and confirmed the guidelines agreed last December.