TNAG-1325-FCO40-1737-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-debates-1984 — Page 33

14. Those agreements are now being put into effect.

We are so in the final stages of negotiating a text

which will guarantee proper budget discipline on the

terms agreed at Fontainebleau. At last we shall see

the principles of sound financial management which we

apply in our domestic economy operating effectively in

the Community.

15.

At the same time, and despite predictions from the

benches opposite, our refunds for 1983 have been

released and paid in full.

16. These or achievements have cleared the way for

further progress. Budget discipline represents a major

step forward. We are now working to ensure that it is

matched by firm control of agricultural surpluses,

implemented through a rigorous price policy. In doing

So,

we recognise that a radical transformation cannot

be achieved overnight. We shall make sure that our

contribution to the Community's supplementary budget

for 1984 is the absolute minimum. Not a penny more

than is necessary to meet the Community's inescapable

financial obligations, and to safeguard payments to

British farmers.

17. There can be no doubt that sound financial

management must be the basis for the future development

of the Community.

It is the key which will unlock the

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