§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement setting out the progress made in 48W achieving the strict budgetary controls of expenditure of the EEC as agreed by the European Council in December 1984; if she will secure information from the Commission on the amount by which these limits will be exceeded in 1986; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterOn progress to date, I refer my hon. Friend to the memorandum entitled "European Community Budget: Budget Discipline and Related Matters" which the Treasury submitted to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee on 18 February. The comparison between actual spending appropriations and budget discipline limits in 1986 will depend on the outcome of further negotiations on the 1986 budget which will take place in July, following the European Court's judgment on the legality of the 1986 budget. The Government will keep the House informed about progress on these matters.