§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking following the adoption by the European Parliament of a budget for 1992 in excess of that permitted by Community legislation.
§ Mr. MaudeIn view of doubts about the legality of the budget adopted by the European Parliament, the Council is considering the basis for legal action later this month.
In the mean time the Government do not consider that they should treat the budget as agreed; or that contributions by the United Kingdom, in excess of the amounts required under Community legislation in the event of a budget not having been adopted, may be paid
130W
§ Mr. MaplesThe information that is currently available is given in the table. Expectations of life are normally calculated for calendar years, but for some of the countries outside the United Kingdom the expectations are the average for three or more years centred on the year in the heading to the column.
directly out of the Consolidated Fund under section 2(3) of the European Communities Act 1992, but will instead have to be paid out of moneys voted by Parliament in estimates. Parliamentary approval of this new service will be sought in a new estimate for the budget of the European Communities—class XX, vote 1. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £150 million monthly will be met from repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund. An advance was made on 3 January 1992 in respect of the first instalment.