§ Mr. BaldryTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the EU programme to compensate for fluctuations in the valuation of the green pound would come from United Kingdom funds; and what estimate he has made of the total cost which this would represent. [21850]
§ Mrs. Liddell[holding answer 19 December 1997]: Under EU rules, the UK could pay up to £980 million to compensate farmers for any income effects arising from the four appreciable revaluations of the sterling green rate in 1997. Up to half of this sum—£490 million—could be reclaimed from the EU budget, with any funds in excess of this coming from the UK budget. However, because of the abatement applied to the UK's EU contribution, the Exchequer bears a significant share of new CAP expenditure in the UK which is reimbursed by the EU budget. Taking the abatement effect into account, payment of the full £980 million available to the UK would result in costs to the Exchequer of around £840 million (about 85 per cent. of the total amount).