§ Mr. Fisherasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reply he has received to his letter to the European Community Commission regarding the £42 million owing to the United Kingdom from the 1982 budget.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweM. Thorn's reply, which I received on 17 February, contains a number of helpful elements, including the view that the figure determined by the Budget Council in July 1983 for the amount of the United Kingdom's risk sharing refund was a political figure which did not itself correspond to any precise formula of calculation. The House will understand that I am not at liberty to divulge the contents in detail. We are giving the Commission's reply careful consideration before deciding how to take matters forward.