§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his reply dated 16 December, Official Report, c. 595, concerning expenditure by the European Economic Community on information and publicity included all kinds of information and publicity such as the offices and staff of the Commission in members' countries and elsewhere and payments to speakers and their expenses; and if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total outlays by the Assembly for these purposes together with expenditure by the Commission and the Assembly, respectively, in the United Kingdom and the costs incurred by each in maintaining staff and premises in the United Kingdom in the latest year for which information is available.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe written reply given on 16 December 1983 in theOfficial Report, c. 595, related 735W solely to the Commission's expenditure on publishing and information as shown in chapter 27, part A, of the Commission's section of the European Communities' general budget. This chapter includes expenditure on:
- (i) the Official Journal;
- (ii) other Commission publications; and
- (iii) informing young people in the European spirit.
The costs of maintaining offices of either the Commission or the European Parliament in member states are not identified separately from the general administrative costs of the two institutions; nor are the payments to guest speakers.
Two elements of the European Parliament's expenditure on publicity can, however, be identified. In 1984 it plans to spend some 11 mecu on publishing and information. The cost of its renting offices in member states in 1984 is estimated to be some 0.637 mecu of which some 0.213 mecu is for renting United Kingdom offices.