asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money the EEC has set aside for promoting in the United Kingdom direct elections to the European Assembly and proportional representation.
The Community budget for 1977 includes 1 million units of account (£417,000) for overall expenditure by the Commission on information work throughout the Community about direct elections. The European Parliament itself has earmarked 3 million units of account for expenditure on direct elections in its own budget for 1977. The way in which this money is spent is for the Parliament to decide. But in any case the money will not be used to advocate a particular electoral system; the system to be adopted for the first elections is a matter for each member State to decide.