I follow precisely what my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said in the matter. We intend that the bank should provide the stimulus for private investment in eastern Europe and not be a drain on the resources of the British or any other taxpayer. Instead, it should stimulate the development of the central and eastern European economies that we know they are well capable of.

The need to have capital to start up is obvious and understandable. However, I cannot divert from anything that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in that respect on 1 May in the House, when she reported back from the European Council in Dublin which also discussed the matter, as did the European Council in Strasbourg last December.