Vol. 457 No. 7
287 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if, in respect of the Government decision of 17 October, 1995, to release a sum of £17 million in guarantees relating to beef intervention and export refunds, he obtained the agreement of the European Commission to such releases. [15902/95]
The responsibility for the implementation of EU regulations and decisions concerning the processing of EU export refund and intervention claims, including release of securities, rests with the Intervention Agency. The agreement of the European Commission in such matters is not required. In any one year some £500 million in beef guarantees are processed without involving the Commission. The Commission was aware of these particular guarantees being processed. All actions of the Intervention Agency are, of course, subject to audit by the Commission Services.
