§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 23 April 1998,Official Report, column 955, if he will list the countries which do not want to review, reconsider or defer the decision to abolish duty-free sales within the EU. [41059]
§ Dawn PrimaroloI can speak only for my ECOFIN colleagues, not for Member States as a whole. The last formal ECOFIN discussion of this issue was towards the end of 1991 when it was decided unanimously to abolish intra-EU duty free sales. There is no obligation, therefore, for any Member State to register an objection to re-opening the issue unless it specifically supports action to the contrary. In that respect, only Ireland has requested reconsideration of the 1991 decision but there is no enthusiasm among ECOFIN colleagues for so doing.
The matter is again to be discussed, at the request of Ireland, at the 19 May ECOFIN.