§ Mr. SteenTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Telecommunications Council on 5 June.
§ Mr. LeighThe principal item for discussion was a proposal for a Council decision on an action plan for the introduction of advanced television services in Europe. The action plan proposes a subsidy of up to 850 mecu to accelerate development of a market for wide-screen and high-definition television services broadcast by satellite or cable and using MAC (Multiplex Analogue Components) transmission standards. The United Kingdom supported by several other member states, rejected the sum of 850 mecu as unacceptably high. The United Kingdom further stated that a convincing business case for any subsidy had yet to be presented. No Council conclusions were drawn from the discussion. Consideration of the action plan will continue.
The otherwise light agenda included a brief discussion on the long awaited postal services green paper. The
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Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom.
Imports Exports Value (£ billion) Numbers (thousands) Value (£ billion) Numbers (thousands) 1982 3.16 1,007 1.45 407 1983 4.08 1,172 1.39 364 1984 4.14 1,120 1.39 296 1985 4.67 1,172 1.72 294 1986 5.45 1,198 1.70 250 1987 5.76 1,153 2.38 310 1988 7.83 1,506 2.49 346 1989 8.87 1,521 3.23 444 1990 8.20 1,287 4.07 540 1991 6.05 887 5.02 744 1 Motor cars, vans and lorries are defined as items 781 and 782 of the Standard International Trade Classification.