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European Communities (Finance) Bill

My right hon. Friend spoke briefly about the origins of the rebate. Was it not the case that Mrs. Thatcher was able to negotiate the rebate because the structure of the UK economy in those days was markedly out of line with the structure of the economies of France in particular, and of Germany? Those structural differences—the differing proportions of GDP raised from the agriculture sector in contradistinction to that raised from industry and the service sector—have changed, particularly in France and Germany. The rebate negotiated by Mrs. Thatcher and the basis on which it was negotiated were almost bound to change over time, as the economies of those other main rich western members of the EU changed.