ABSTRACT
Settling our contribution to the Community's budget was the most important issue for us in the whole negotiation. As things turned out, it was rivalled—some might say surpassed—in strictly political importance by the three questions of New Zealand dairy products, Commonwealth sugar and fisheries. But in terms of its economic, importance to ourselves it completely transcended any of these. It was also by far the most important issue in the negotiations for the French, in their case both in economic and in political terms. It is worth, for so important an issue, describing the background in some detail, before proceeding to describe how the problem developed and was settled.
