Lord Bruce of Doningtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they were consulted by Mr. Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission, prior to his statement in the course of his recent visit to Northern Ireland that they should make further contributions from public funds to Northern Ireland; and, if not, what representations they propose to make.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Baroness Denton of Wakefield)Mr. Santer's comments were made in the context of the draft guidelines for the Special Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation which were published on 14th February 1995. These guidelines are essentially similar to the proposal considered at the Essen Council on 9th December 1994 and have been widely circulated. The Government will present a draft programme to the European Commission when the guidelines are formally adopted.