asked the Prime Minister if she will ensure that, before Parliament is asked to approve the accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Economic Community, details of all of the additional costs and any loss of benefit to the United Kingdom are made available to Parliament.

Most recent Commission estimates suggest that at the end of transition enlargement will represent a cost to the Community budget as a whole of between 0·1 per cent. and 0·2 per cent. of the VAT own resources base annually. It is not yet possible to estimate actual costs and benefits to the United Kingdom. Because of the Fontainebleu abatement mechanism, the United Kingdom will pay around 7 per cent. net of the additional costs to the allocated Community budget arising from enlargement.