§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the cost of the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Central Bank's capital. [24716]
§ Mrs. LiddellUnder Article 9(c) of Protocol No. 11 to the EC Treaty, the Bank of England will be obliged to pay up its subscription to the capital of the ECB as a contribution to its operational costs on the same basis as national central banks of Member States with a derogation.
Article 48 of the Statute of the ESCB and the ECB provides that central banks of Member States with a derogation shall not pay up their subscribed capital unless the General Council decides that a minimal percentage has to be paid up as a contribution to the operational costs of the ECB.
Until the ECB is established, the General Council cannot take a decision on whether central banks of Member States with a derogation should pay up subscriptions to the capital of the ECB, nor decide what the contribution to the operational costs of the ECB should be.