HC Deb 05 December 1996 vol 286 cc742-3W
Mr. Matthew Banks

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the European Union Budget Council held on 19 November. [8174]

Mr. Oppenheim

Sir Stephen Wall, United Kingdom representative to the European Union, represented the United Kingdom at the Budget Council on 19 November. The Council considered the European Parliament's proposed changes to the draft budget which the Council established in July—seeOfficial Report, 12 November 1996, columns 161–62—and established a second reading draft budget for 1997.

The Council's second reading draft budget totals 88,759 million ecu or £69,425 million in commitment appropriations and 81,877 million ecu or £64,042 million in payment appropriations. The second reading draft budget is 1,470 million ecu or £1,150 million in commitments and 3,930 million ecu or £3,074 million in payments below the financial perspective ceilings and at 1.16 per cent. of Community gross national product is substantially within the new own resources ceiling of 1.24 per cent. The following table compares the outcome of the Budget Council with the proposals in the Commission's preliminary draft budget and with the proposals in the European Parliament's draft budget, with reference to the financial perspective ceilings.

The European Parliament will consider the draft budget for 1997 at its plenary session in December. The 1996 Community budget is expected to be adopted by the Parliament on 12 December, to take effect from 1 January 1997.

£1.2785 ecu
Financial perspective ceilings1 Preliminary draft budget European Parliament first reading draft budget Budget council second
mecu £ million mecu £ million mecu £ million Reading mecu Draft budget £million
Commitment appropriations
1. EAGGF guarantee 41,805 32,698 41,805 32,698 40,805 31,916 40,805 31,916
2. Structural operations 31,477 24,620 31,477 24,620 31,477 24,620 31,477 24,620
3. Internal policies 5,603 4,382 5,523 4,320 5,529 4,325 5,462 4,272
4. External action 5,622 4,397 5,528 4,324 5,495 4,298 5,400 4,224
5. Administration 4,352 3,404 4,369 3,418 4,284 3,350 4,245 3,320
6. Reserves 1,158 906 1,58 906 1,158 906 1,158 906
7. Compensation 212 166 212 166 212 166 212 166
Union priorities — — — — 300 235 — —
Negative reserve — — — — 73 57 — —
Total: Commitment appropriations 90,229 70,574 90,072 70,452 89,187 69,759 88,759 69,425
Total: Payment appropriations 85,807 67,115 84,521 66,110 82,515 64,541 81,877 64,042
1Throughout this reply the rate of £1=1.2785 ecu has been used (the rate notified in the Official Journal as prevailing on the last working day of the last month (31 October).