I should like to begin my speech before I give way. I have not completed one point yet.

Many of the details are still vague, so this is a good opportunity for us to press for what we think is important. This debate on the United Kingdom's financial contribution is being counted as a debate on ratification, so it is our only chance to comment before the United Kingdom ratifies the bank agreement.

The BERD—I use the French initials of the bank because I think that they will be more commonly used in future—will not be a major institution in the reconstruction of eastern Europe in purely financial terms, because its initial capital of $12 billion is small, less than half the estimated cost of cleaning up Poland's power industry alone.

This is not an institution on the scale of the Marshall plan; its significance lies in the fact that it is a new and rapidly created bank with the specific purpose of promoting the reconstruction of eastern Europe. The speed at which it has been set up reflects the importance that both east and west attach to the task. As Mr. Attali described it in a recent interview, BERD is the embryo of a confederation of Europe, as the European coal and steel community was the embryo of the Common Market in the fifties.". It is the political commitment, as much as the economic funding of BERD, that is significant. As M. Attali is well grounded in socialist principles, the next Labour Government will have no difficulty in working well with him.

As the Minister said, BERD is the first multilateral bank to have environmental protection written into its articles of agreement, which is very important. However, it is vital that strong environmental conditions are written into the byelaws and manual of operations, which are still being negotiated. The United States Congress has passed implementing legislation which says that the Government can subscribe only if the strictest environmental standards are used. I suggest that the United Kingdom Government too should not ratify the bank's statutes until they are sure that strict environmental standards are to be upheld.

The byelaws and operating manual must require environmental impact assessments of all projects before they are approved. Careful monitoring of projects will also be needed. This Government and others know full well that public participation and disclosure of information are essential for environmental concerns to be expressed and to be taken into account. Yet there is no mention of that in the articles of agreement. Article 35 states that there will be an annual report on the environmental impact of BERD's activities, but it also states that copies of all reports, statements and publications made under that article shall be distributed to members. We know how secretive member Governments are about such reports once they have their own vested interests, so it must be agreed from the start that information about BERD's proposed projects will be publicly available, especially to those most affected by the proposals and to those best placed to provide information on their likely environmental impact.