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Treasury

Answer

Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the recent Council meeting of the Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Union. [21422] Mr. Oppenheim: I represented the UK at the Economic and Finance Council--ECOFIN--of the European Union in Brussels on 17 March. The Council carried out an examination of the revised convergence programmes of Germany and France for the period 1997-2001. The German strategy of pursuing budgetary consolidation while promoting growth and employment through structural reforms was welcomed. The Council also welcomed the objective in the French programme of reducing the Government deficit in the medium term and the measures they have proposed to achieve this. The Council agreed to the reactivation of previously agreed balance of payments lending to Romainia. Lending to Bulgaria was discussed, but no conclusion reached and the matter will be considered again at a future meeting. The Council recommended that the European Parliament should grant the Commission discharge for the 1995 budget. However, the Council noted that standards of financial management of the EC budget remained low, and looked forward to the effect of measures in the Commission's Sound and Efficient Management 2000 initiative to improve resource management. A progress report on this initiative is due in June. The Commission presented proposals for an energy products directive. I made it clear that any proposals which would require the UK to introduce new taxes on gas, electricity or coal would be unacceptable. The Council discussed technical specifications of euro coins, but no final decisions were reached on this issue. The Council will need to return to this issue at some point in the future.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

21422; 292 c970-1W

Session

1996-97

Subjects

Bulgaria EU action EU budget Germany Economic and monetary union EU economic policy France Euro Romania EU external relations EC Finance Council