§ Mr. Formanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will report on the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.
§ Mr. LawsonThe EC Economic and Finance Council met in Luxembourg on 16 June. I represented the United Kingdom.
The Council discussed the report of the Ad Hoc Group on the removal of fiscal barriers. The Council asked the Commission to present, by 1 April 1987, detailed proposals on rate structures and on the accompanying systems which in the Commission's view are necessary for the completion of the internal market. This will help the member states to assess the Commission's approach, particularly in respect of its wider budgetary, economic, social and industrial implications.
The Council had a general discussion on the liberalisation of capital movements in the Community, in particular on the recent proposals by the European Commission for the achievement of full liberalisation by 1992. There was general support for the Commission's objectives. This topic will be given priority during the forthcoming United Kingdom Presidency of the Community, and it is hoped that in the first instance a new Council Directive designed to extend the current liberalisation obligations can be adopted by the Council later this year.
The Council considered the Community's economic and financial relations with Japan and, in preparation for the European Council later this month, the general economic situation in the Community. The Council expects to return to the latter question at its meeting in July.