§ Dr. TwinnTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the European Commission's latest cash position and the implications for the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BrookeThe European Commission estimates that its spending obligations under provisional twelfths this month will exceed the available resources. The Commission has informed us that it expects to have to overdraw its accounts with member states in accordance with article 12(2) of Council regulation 2891/77. The amount involved for the United Kingdom is expected to be of the order of £98 million. As I explained to the House on 19 May at column 1151 the Government are obliged to meet an article 12(2) request provided it is genuinely needed to cover a prospective cash deficit and provided that it would not involve exceeding the own resources known to be available for the year. We will accordingly meet this request directly from the Consolidated Fund, in accordance with section 2(3) of the European Communities Act 1972. Repayment of any drawing under this facility will be made by deduction from future own resources payments.
The article 12(2) facility does not affect the total amount which the Community is authorised to spend during the year. The Commission's request does not, therefore, involve any net addition to public expenditure.