Page 539 United Kingdom representative, expressed dissatisfaction with the recommenda- tions of the Working Party set up to screen the programmes submitted by the participating countries. It was therefore agreed that the whole problem should be reconsidered by the Chairman at the official level (Baron Snoy of Belgium) and the Secretary-General (M. Marjolin of France). Baron Snoy and M. Marjolin assumed that $3,776 million would be available for division between the partici- pants for 1949-50 and prepared a revised allocation of which the United Kingdom share was $962 million. The Snoy-Marjolin allocation was accepted by all the delegates to the O.E.E.C. Council.
44. The final E.R.P. appropriation for 1949-50 was as stated above- $3,778 million. After taking into account E.C.A. administrative expenses and a carry over from the April-June appropriation, the amount available for division between the participants became $3,776 million, the figure assumed by Baron Snoy and M. Marjolin. E.C.A. are, however, insisting that $150 million of this shall be set aside to form a pool to finance Colonial development and to assist the liberali- sation of European trade. E.C.A. propose that this sum be deducted from the allocations recommended by the O.E.E.C. Council on a pro rata basis; this would have the effect of reducing the United Kingdom share of Aid for 1949-50 to $920 million.
Allotments
45. The United Kingdom received allotments totalling $1,619.7 million for the fifteen months' period from April 1948 (the beginning of E.R.P.) to June 1949. Against the United Kingdom's share of Aid for the year July 1949 June 1950 (i.e., an estimated $920 million-see "Division of Aid" above) two allotments have so far been made, the first of $292.2 million and the second of $351 million (total $643.2 million).
Intra-European Payments Scheme.
46. The new Payments Agreement (for 1949-50) was signed on 7th Septem- ber. It is based on the compromise proposals agreed between Ministers in July, i.e..-
(1) Drawing rights will not be convertible into dollars this year.
The Belgian surplus with the O.E.E.C. countries was assessed at $400
million.
(3) The latter would be covered by:
(a) An E.C.A. unconditional grant of..
Million dollars
(b) Drawing rights granted by Belgium to other O.E.E.C. countries against the receipts of con- ditional E.C.A. dollars
(c) Credits granted by Belgium to O.E.E.C. countries on the same terms regarding interest, &c.,
as E.C.A. loans
200
112.5
87.5
(4) Only 25 per cent. of the drawing rights granted by one O.E.E.C. country to another (and consequently only 25 per cent. of conditional aid dollars) will be transferable.
(5) The amount of drawing rights which may be transferred to Belgium may
not exceed $40 million.
47. The drawing rights granted by the United Kingdom, of which 25 per cent. are transferable, are as follows:-
Million dollars
Austria France
Greece
Turkey
20
108
27
16
48. The United Kingdom receives drawing rights on Belgium to the extent of $102 million, of which $28 million are in the form of loans.
Page 5The onero@greement contained a provisiorpallowing for a review of its operation after three months. The possibility of effecting a major change, in the
275
light of the peadjustment of exchange rates and of proposals for a radical altera-
age tion in the Organisation's methods of programming, is now under discussion with E.C.A. and O.E.E.C.
Ministerial Meetings in Paris, 28th October to 2nd November
50. Important meetings between Ministers of the O.E.E.C. countries and the Economic Co-operation Administrator (Mr. Hoffman) took place in Paris beginning 28th October. One of the major results of these meetings was a decision to undertake a radical simplification of the programming work of the Organisa- tion, which, up to the present time, has imposed so heavy a burden of work on it that it has never been really free to consider its wider and more fundamental problems. United Kingdom proposals for the liberalisation of trade were accepted and, as an immediate step, participating Governments agreed to adopt the objec- tive of removing quantitative restrictions before 15th December, 1949, on at least 50 per cent. of their total imports on private account from the other participants.
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