§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister what is the agreed limit on agricultural spending for the current year in consequence of the Brussels Council agreement; and what was the agreed limit for 1987.
§ The Prime MinisterAs I indicated in my statement of 15 February the guideline base for 1988 has been set at 27.5 billion ecu (about £19 billion). The limit for 1987 was just under 23 billion ecu (about £16 billion).
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister what estimate she has made of the maximum expenditure which the European Economic Community would be entitled to undertake if the 1.2 gross national product formula agreed at the Brussels Council were applied in full; and what limit would have applied if the 1.4 limit had remained in force.
§ The Prime MinisterThe 1.2 per cent. gross national product ceiling on the Community's own resources agreed at the European Council is equivalent in 1988 to some 46.5 billion ecu (£32.2 billion), whilst the current 1.4 per cent. value added tax ceiling this year is equivalent, on a comparable basis, to some 36.7 billion ecu (£25.4 billion).
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister (1) what percentage levy of gross national product for the current year was agreed at the Brussels Council;
(2) what voting system will apply, in consequence of the Brussels Councils agreement, to alterations in the gross national product levy; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterThe level of the new gross national product-related contributions will be subject to the overall ceiling on all own resources equivalent to 1.2 per cent. of Community GNP and to any annual sub-ceilings which the Council may agree. These ceilings, once adopted, cannot be changed except by unanimity and following ratification in all member states. Within that constraint, the level of GNP-related contributions required to balance the budget in 1988 and later years will reflect the expenditure decisions taken by qualified majority voting in the annual budgetary process, just as the actual rate of value added tax contributions is determined under the present system.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister if there is any provision in the Brussels Council agreement to prevent the Commission underwriting spending levels in excess of legal limits in a manner similar to the metric year operated in 1987 when receipts were demanded one month in advance and receipts delayed for a month; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterThe decision on budget discipline described in my statement of 15 February will be legally binding.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister why she agreed to the exceptional circumstances clause in the Brussels Council agreement; and by which voting system it will be operated.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made on Monday 15 February on the outcome612W of the European Council. The monetary reserve which I referred to in my statement will operate on the basis I described and the question of voting does not therefore arise. There is no other provision for so-called exceptional circumstances.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister if the sum which is currently spent each week by the European Economic Community on dumping, storing and destroying food surpluses will change in consequence of the Brussels Council agreement; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterThe sums spent each week on storage and disposal of surplus depend on the level of surpluses and the prices at which they can be sold. As I said in my statement on 15 February, the agreement on the agricultural stabilisers is intended to control both output and spending on surpluses.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister what representations Her Majesty's Government have received from the United States of America and other foreign governments about the Brussels Council agreement.
§ The Prime MinisterNone.
§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Prime Minister if the previous decision of the Finance Ministers' Council to transfer the responsibilities of financing the cost of butter dumping to member states, which was declared to be unlawful by the Court of Auditors, was discussed at the Brussels Council; and what changes were proposed in these arrangements following the increase in EEC resources.
§ The Prime MinisterThe matter was not discussed and no changes are proposed.