HC Deb 24 November 1994 vol 250 c351W
Ms Quin

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the EC Budget Council held on 16 November.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

I represented the United Kingdom at the Budget Council on 16 November. The Council considered the European Parliament's proposed changes to the draft budget which the Council established in July,Official Report, 17 October 1994, columns 1–4; and established a second reading draft budget for 1995.

Financial perspective expenditure ceilings Preliminary draft budget2 Parliament draft budget Council second reading draft budget
Commitment appropriations mecu £ million1 mecu £ million mecu £ million mecu £ million
1. Common Agricultural Policy 36,994 29,219 36,994 29,219 36,449 28,487 36,994 28,913
2. Structural operations 25,264 19,745 25,264 19,745 25,264 19,745 25,264 19,745
3. Internal policies 4,652 3,636 4,610 3,603 4,523 3,544 4,321 3,535
4. External action 4,605 3,599 4,555 3,560 4,572 3,573 4,393 3,433
5. Administration expenditure 3,852 3,011 3,827 2,991 3,823 2,988 3,811 2,979
6. Reserves 1,146 896 1,146 896 1,146 896 1,146 896
Total commitments 76,513 59,799 76,396 59,708 75,775 59,222 75,930 59,343
Total payment appropriations 72,924 56,994 72,417 56,597 71,318 55,739 72,000 56,272
1 Throughout this reply the rate of £1=1.2795 ecu has been used (the rate notified in the Official Journal as prevailing on the last working day of last month (31 October).
2 Including letter of amendment No. 1 to the PDB for 1995.

The European Parliament will consider the draft budget for 1994 at its plenary session in December. The 1995 Community Budget is expected to be adopted by the Parliament on 15 December, to take effect from 1 January.

The Council took no formal votes, the presidency concluding that there was the necessary majority to establish the second reading draft budget for 1995.

The Budget Council also discussed the revision of the financial perspective to take account of enlargement.

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