HC Deb 18 June 1997 vol 296 cc230-1W
Mr. Tyrie

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual net budgetary contribution by the United Kingdom to the EU; and what plans he has to discuss with his EU counterparts ways in which the size of the United Kingdom's net contribution can be reduced in the future. [3765]

Mrs. Liddell

[holding answer 16 June 1997]: The latest estimates of the United Kingdom's net contribution to the European Community Budget for the financial year 1997–98 to 1999–2000 remain as set out in the Departmental Report published by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 March 1997 (Cm 3617) and are reproduced below:

  • 1997–98: £2,750 million
  • 1998–99: £3,000 million
  • 1999–2000: £3,400 million

The Government are committed to tight control of public spending in the EU as in the UK. We shall work constructively with other Member States and the European Parliament to achieve this.