§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement setting out the procedures which require to be followed to adjust agricultural guidelines to take account of changes in the dollar/European currency unit exchange rate; whether such adjustments are subject to Council agreement; and what has been the impact of recent changes in this exchange rate.
744W
§ Mr. MacGregorThe guideline is not adjusted to take account of currency fluctuations. A monetary reserve of 1 billion ecu (£670 million) is now included in the annual EC budget. If the ecu/dollar exchange rate is significanily different from that assumed in drawing up the budget the Council and European Parliament shall decide on transfers to or from the monetary reserve depending on whether the dollar has risen or fallen. The first 400 mecu of additional savings or expenditure are deducted before calculating the amount to be transferred. The Commission's report on the effect of ecu/dollar fluctuations in 1988 is not due until October but it seems unlikely that there will be a need for transfers into or out of the reserve this year.