The decision taken at the Council of Ministers meeting on 13-14 May was that member states, on the basis of a Commission proposal, would provide aid totalling 60 MECU for the victims of the Bangladesh cyclone disaster. Costs were to be divided among member states on the basis of GNP. The decision provided that the aid would be integrated into the general action of the Community towards Bangladesh and that it would be provided either directly by member states or through an account managed by the Commission.
The Commission would have preferred that contributions would be over and above contributions already made and would go towards supporting a proposed Community Bangladesh action plan.
Ireland, in common with a number of other member states, took the view that they were free to choose whether to provide funds to the Commission or to manage their programmes themselves and that member states could, if they wished, take account of contributions already made.
In the event only Greece transferred its portion of the 60 MECU directly to the Commission account. Germany and Spain entered into a co-funding arrangement with the Commission.
As I have already informed the Deputy on 17 October 1991, Ireland paid its agreed contribution of £275,000 in two separate allocations on 2 and 16 May 1991, respectively.
