§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on extensions of co-decision in the draft Constitutional Treaty in articles concerning the European Union's budget. [136538]
§ Mr. StrawAs we set out in our White Paper on the IGC, we will seek to ensure value for money for UK taxpayers by working to strengthen discipline and proper accountability in spending from the EU Budget. In this regard, we welcome the European Convention's proposals for a legally binding Multi-Annual Financial Framework and a streamlined annual budget procedure. We also welcome the consensus proposals by ECOFIN Ministers regarding the budgetary provisions of the draft constitutional treaty and we will support these proposals in the IGC.