I want to make a few constitutional points. It is an outrage that an agenda-less European Council should take decisions to create a bank which has no reference to the European Parliament or to national Parliaments and for the constitution of the bank to be presented to the House tonight in an hour-and-a-half debate in which we are supposed to ratify the entire principle of its establishment. That leads on directly to the problem that we will encounter in future with the institution as I understand it at present. To whom is it accountable? How will it be called to account?

The World bank and the regional development banks in other areas have proved disastrously unaccountable to the nations that established them, other than to a few civil servants in one or two ministries of finance or administrations for overseas development. For example, it is impossible to see the minutes or agenda of the World bank institutions in this country. To find out what it is discussing or what loans it has agreed or its policy, we have to go to the United States, which is the only country that deposits the agenda and the papers of the World bank in the trade development bank in that country. I suspect that this new institution will be equally secretive and unaccountable.

As I understand the constitution of the new bank, it will be similar to that of the other regional development banks, in that it will have a committed capital only part of which will be drawn down. The rest of the money to be made available to the eastern European countries will be raised on the open market value. That answers the point of the right hon. Member for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (Sir D. Steel) about interest rates. Of course, there will have to be a difference between the rate at which it raises money and the rate at which it lends it and, as with the open market—possibly on a AAA basis as in the World bank—we can rest assured that the interest rates will be about 2 or 3 per cent. above the London inter-bank offer sale. That is in order to make a return on the bank's capital and to ensure repayment.