§ Sir Teddy TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of whether Her Majesty's Government are required, under the provisions of the Maastricht treaty, to seek to aim at any specified levels of inflation or of the public sector borrowing requirement; and if he will make a statement. [18152]
§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory[holding answer 4 April 1995]: Article 103 of the treaty on European Union requires all member states to regard their economic policy as a matter of common concern, but the broad guidelines on economic policy adopted by the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers under article 103(2) are only recommendations. The same applies to the outcome of the excessive deficits procedure set out in article 104c.
The latest broad guidelines on economic policy, adopted by ECOFIN on 11 July 1994, recognised the need to achieve low inflation on a permanent basis and sound public finances. Such aims are consistent with Government's existing economic policy, as were the recommendations under the excessive deficit procedure, adopted on 7 November 1994.