§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister, further to her statement on the meeting of the EEC Council, 15 February,Official Report, columns 705–17, why the cost depreciation on EEC stocks has not been written off under the guidelines; and under what provision of the treaty of Rome the Commission was entitled not to include real depreciation in the annual budget.
§ The Prime MinisterThe cost of depreciating old stocks is to be met outside the financial guidelines in order to restrict the resources available within the guidelines and hence to limit agricultural spending for the future. The cost of depreciating old stocks has built up because there has been no legal requirement on the Commission systematically to depreciate stocks to their market level.