EU Parliamentary Building (Hansard, 21 January 1997)

§ Mr. Porter
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations his officials have made to other EU Governments about the necessity of a new EU parliamentary building in(a) Brussels and (b) Strasbourg; and if he will make a statement; [11105]
(2) what representations he and his officials made to monitor the spending of United Kingdom public funds on the new European Union Parliament building in Brussels; and if he will make a statement. [11107]

§ Mr. David Davis
The United Kingdom has consistently pressed for value for money and sound financial practice in all European institutions. Overall ceilings for expenditure are set by the Council, but within that, spending by the European Parliament on building and other programmes is a matter for the Parliament in the first place, subject to scrutiny of its spending by the European Court of Auditors. We have not made separate representations.

§ Mr. Porter
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list an inventory of internal fixtures and fittings and building costs, in sterling, of the new European Union Parliament in Brussels; what has been the cost to United Kingdom public funds; and if he will make a statement. [11106]

§ Mr. Davis
Title 2 of section 1 of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year1996—Official Journal of the European Committees, volume 39 of 29 January 1996—gives details of the buildings, equipment and miscellaneous operating expenditure of the European Parliament.
The United Kingdom's contribution to the 1996 EU budget represented 15 per cent. of the budget.

§ Mr. Porter
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is(a) the total cost and (b) the cost to British public funds of building the new European Union Parliament building in Brussels; and if he will make a statement. [11108]

§ Mr. Davis
The total cost of the new European Parliament building in Brussels was estimated to be 831 million ecu, or £612.7 million, by the European Commission on 29 October 1996.
The UK's contribution to the 1996 EU budget represented 15 per cent. of the budget.