§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the steps taken by the Commission and the various Councils of Ministers to fulfill the conditions linked to the agreement on increased own resources made at the Fontainebleu summit relating to budgetary discipline.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Council of Ministers (Foreign Affairs) at the meeting in Dublin on 4 December adopted detailed arrangements to implement budgetary discipline. Article 10 of the Council conclusions adopted provides that budgetary discipline will apply to the 1986 budget and to Council decisions taken in 1985 affecting expenditure in 1986. The Commission has stated that its agricultural proposals for 1985 are within the agricultural guideline figure for 1986. Those proposals will be discussed by the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) on 25/26 February. Discussion of the 1986 budget has not yet begun.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Prime Minister what mechanism has been established to monitor the effective budgetary descipline which the Council of Ministers agreed as a condition of increasing the Common Market's own resources at the Fontainebleu Council; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterThe text agreed unanimously by the Council of Ministers on 4 December fulfils the European Council's request that the measures necessary to guarantee the effective application of budgetary discipline be adopted. Under the new procedures, Finance Ministers have been given an important role in ensuring that spending decisions are compatible with the requirements of budgetary discipline.