§ Mr. GillTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what preparations have been made within the Treasury in anticipation of the single currency; [2772]
(2) what preparations the Bank of England has made in anticipation of the introduction of the single currency. [2771]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is a member of the ECOFIN Council. The Governor of the Bank of England is a member of the European Monetary Institute Council. Treasury and the Bank of England both have representatives on the
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Contributions to and receipts from the EU—12 Budget in 1990 and 1994 1990 ecu/£ = 1.39 Gross contribution (mecu) Gross Receipts £ million Net Contribution/Receipt (mecu) £ million (mecu) £ million Belgium 1,763.7 1,268.8 989.8 712.1 -773.9 -556.8 Denmark 775.1 557.6 1,197.6 861.6 422.5 304.0 Germany 10,357.5 7,451.4 4,807.1 3,458.3 -5,550.4 -3,993.1 Greece 563.6 405.5 3,033.8 2,182.6 2,470.2 1,777.1 Spain 3,671.1 2,641.3 5,382.7 3,872.4 1,711.3 1,231.2 France 8,089.5 5,819.8 6,284.6 4,521.3 -1,804.9 -1,298.5 Ireland 368.2 264.9 2,260.7 1,626.4 1,892.5 1,361.5 Italy 6,097.7 4,386.8 5,681 4,087.1 -416.7 -299.8 EU monetary committee. Under the EC treaty, ECOFIN, the EMI and the monetary committee are all involved in preparatory work for a single currency.
The United Kingdom's involvement in preparatory work in no way prejudges the UK's decision whether or not to notify our intention to move to stage 3 of EMU, in accordance with the provisions of protocol 11 annexed to the EC treaty.
Under protocol 11 annexed to the UK treaty, the Prime Minister has ensured that the United Kingdom shall not be obliged or committed to move to the third stage of economic union without a separate decision to do so by the Government and Parliament. We will agree to take part in a single currency only if it is in our national interest to do so, given the circumstances at the time.