§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the proposed percentage increase in staff following the forthcoming enlargement to the(a) Commission, (b) Council of Ministers, (c) Court of Justice and (d) European Parliament in relation to the percentage of the population of the respective applicant counties; and if he will make a statement. [72232]
§ Peter HainThe Government accept that enlargement requires additional staff in the EU institutions, and will continue to scrutinise proposals from the institutions closely.
The Government reiterate the importance of keeping to the financial agreement reached at Berlin as well as to the timetable for enlargement agreed at Gothenburg and Laeken. The UK will work to ensure the necessary human resources are made available to make enlargement a success—but believe this is achievable within the agreed budgetary ceilings. The Government note the proposal for a Standing Committee debate as proposed by the European Scrutiny Committee.