§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will support French proposals that defence expenditure should be excluded from calculations in relation to the European stability and growth pact. [HL747]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)The UK Government have consistently supported a prudent interpretation of the stability and growth pact that takes into account the economic cycle, sustainability and the important role of public investment. The Government published alongsideBudget 2004 a discussion paper on the SGP. The paper assesses the performance of the pact and examines the principles, based on our experience, which should guide the evolution of fiscal policy.