To ask the Prime Minister what assessment she has made as to whether the proposals agreed at the Council meeting in February on penalising over-production and maintaining agricultural guidelines will be achieved in light of the provisional agreement of 11 member states at the recent Council meeting of Agriculture Ministers.

The Commission has provided assurances that the costs of the package now agreed can be contained within the guideline.The stabilisers agreed at the European Council in Brussels are not affected by the price-fixing agreement. They will operate generally to reduce levels of support if predetermined production thresholds are exceeded. The extent of any reductions in support can only be determined once production levels for 1988–89 are known.