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Laymans Guide to the EU
The European Union is moribund, corrupt, undemocratic, and dysfunctional. Its policies have brought misery to millions of European citizens, but the European Commission does not care and blindly pursue it’s determination to turn Europe into a “super state.”
Some may argue that as we voted to leave the EU then UKIP’s purpose has been served. There is no doubt that UKIP played a major role in achieving a leave vote but because some remoaners believe they know better than the British people will fight a rear-guard action in their miss-placed belief that Brexit can be reversed or diluted. Thus many battles still lie ahead to ensure we leave the EU completely and don’t end up half in and half out, still under Brussel’s control.
In the past few years politics in the UK has changed out of all recognition. The Tory Party still look after the interests of the better off. The Liberal Democrats are so far out of touch with realty they are a joke and seem to represent only themselves, and the SNP dominates Scotland. Traditionally the Labour Party looked after the interests of working people but this has changed, leaving working people without a political home. I believe UKIP has now stepped in and filled the vacuum left by Labour’s move to the left.
Until recently I took only a passing interest in politics, and tended to vote for the party which held the centre ground. About five years ago I began to take an interest in the effect the EU had on the UK when I saw a TV programme about low skill East European economic migrants arriving in the UK without a job. I was shocked to learn these people, without paying a penny in UK tax, were able to claim benefits from the day they arrived. The EU also forces us to provide these people not only with benefits but also, accommodation, health care and education for their children etc. This is one of the reasons why public services like the NHS are being overwhelmed. As I learned more about the effect unlimited low skill economic migration had on the UK I came to the conclusion that it was a bad thing for the country if it could not be controlled. That can’t be done while we remain a member of the EU or the Single Market. I am in favour of managed migration and believe we should be able to control our borders and to seek the skills we need anywhere in the world, not just in the EU.
There has been much debate about the UK and the EU doing a trade deal, which I believe is in the interests of both parties, but if it is not possible then the EU will lose most. EU countries sell us about £60 billion more than we sell them. Thus about two million UK jobs depend on trade with the EU but three million EU jobs depend on trade with the UK. Had we traded with the EU last year and World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms had applied then EC countries would have paid us about £13 billion in tariffs while we would have paid them only £5 billion. The UK car market is the most profitable in Europe. A 10% tariff is applied to cars under WTO rules. One in five cars manufactured in Germany are sold in the UK and they would all become subject to a 10% tariff. What would Mrs Merkel say to 50,000 or so German car workers who were to be made redundant if there is no trade deal? What would the French President tell French Farmers when up to 30% tariff is applied to French cheese and wine? What about Belgian chocolate etc? Any tariffs applied by the EU to our exports to them then we can easily apply similar tariffs to their exports to us.
The EU protects it own markets by applying huge tariffs on anything imported from outside the EU, which makes many goods and services more expensive. Once we leave these tariffs could be reduced or eliminated making those goods and services cheaper. The EU does not have a trade agreement with America but that does not stop us trading with America under WTO terms. If we want to sign our own trade agreements when we leave the EU then we must leave the Customs Union, but this does not prevent us trading with the EU. Remember anything the EU does to us we can do to them and they will lose more than we will.
There is no doubt that the EU’s top Burocrats want it to become a federal super state, the United States of Europe, with the members reduced to provinces or states. This has been the goal since the fore-runner of EU first reared its ugly head in the 50s. There is no doubt these people will do anything to advance the idea of a European super State and are not concerned about the hardship they are causing to the people of Europe. When we joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1972 the then Prime Minister, Edward Heath, told us we were joining a trading club and would not lose any sovereignty. This was a deliberate lie designed to deceive the British people about the organisation he was taking us into. The day before we joined, the existing members of the EEC declared that the fish in coastal waters were a “common asset.” This meant on day one of our membership of the EEC its coast-line doubled and we lost control of our coastal waters, the fish in them and who could catch them. Heath knew this and deliberately deceived us into voting to remain in the EEC. Had we been told the truth the result of the 1973 referendum may have been very different. When I learned this I became incensed as in 1973 I voted to remain in the EEC. Today 75% of fish caught in UK waters are caught by foreign trawlers, which have decimated the UK’s fishing industry at a huge cost to the country and we get nothing in return from the EU. Many small dead fish, which can still be used, have to be discarded because of EU rules. We are very capable of managing our own coastal waters and the fish in them. Imagine the reaction of French farmers if they were told by the EU that 75% of their grape harvest is to be given to other EU member states.
I was shocked to find that over 60% of UK laws originate in the undemocratic EU. The European Parliament, so named to give the impression it is democratic, is one of the most undemocratic institutions in the world. Its members are elected but they can’t propose or amend laws, all they can do is to accept or reject what comes from the European Commission with consists of five unelected presidents and 28 unelected commissioners. Thus those who make European laws are in no way accountable to those who are required to comply with them.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must be the biggest waste of money the world has ever known. The French Government will always veto any changes to it because if the don’t militant French farmers will take disruptive action until they get their way. Our farmers are told by the EU what they can and can’t do what fertiliser and weed-killers they can use etc. We are very capable of managing our own agriculture, without any guidance from the EU unelected European Commission.
Corruption within the EU is rife; the accounts have not been signed off by auditors for 20 years mainly because of the high levels of fraud. If a referendum produces the “wrong answer” the EU either ignores it or called for a rerun until the electorate come up with the “right answer.” When Mr. Junker was confirmed as the President of the European Commission by the European Parliament, members could vote for him or abstain, they could not vote against him because the against lights had been switched off. Remember a few years ago Tony Blair gave up some of the rebate negotiated by Mrs. Thatcher in exchange for a review of the CAP, which needless to say has never taken place, but we did give up our money. Mr. Junker had an office built at his home, at a cost or 250,000 euros, to save him having to make the effort to go to the office. This clearly shows the EU can’t be trusted to spend European tax-payer’s money correctly or to keep agreements into which it enters and it will promise anything to get what it wants.
The Euro has caused more misery to more people than almost anything other than war because currency unions simply don’t work. Remember the Irish Punt was once fixed to the UK Pound. Eventually the Punt began to lose value against the pound which the Irish government could not
maintain and was eventually forced to separate the two currencies. The European Exchange Mechanism (ERM), the fore runner of the euro, was an experiment designed to limit the value which currencies could vary against each other to see if a common currency would work. At first the UK didn’t join the ERM , but did so later. After a few months the pound came crashing out of the ERM when it became impossible to maintain its value against the German mark costing the UK billions of pounds. In spite of the total failure of the ERM and every other previous currency union the EU decided to press ahead with the euro. At the time only two European currencies met the Maastricht criteria for membership of the Euro, they were the UK and Luxemburg. All the EU member states were encouraged to join the project, whether or not their economy met the criteria. Figures were fiddled to allow countries to join the Euro who should not have been allowed to do so. Fortunately the UK after much debate and many dire warnings from economists and the ruling elite of the severe consequences of us not joining the euro we decided to stay out. That turned out to be the right decision which has saved us billions of pounds and much heart ache. Sounds familiar doesn’t it!! Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, termed the PIGS should not have applied to join the Euro and when they did their application should have been rejected, which did not happen.
The Euro was born and very soon ran into trouble.
There were many reasons for this but the main ones are:
1. Member did not keep to the Maastricht Criteria and allowed public debt and spending to spiral out of control.
2. The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) did nothing to ensure euro members kept to the Maastricht Criteria for public spending and Government debt.
3. Member states lost the ability to control the parameters of their currency such as interest rates and exchange rates which were set by the ECB, largely for the benefit of Germany.
4. Corruption in some countries is rife and the governments collected a fraction of the tax due.
This set the scene for disaster and brought into being the PIGS. Ireland had a property boom and needed to raise interest rates to cool it, but a very low interest rate was set by the ECB. This caused a mega property boon which brought economic disaster, the need for a “bail-out” and austerity to the people of Ireland. This would have been avoided if the Irish government could have set its own interest rate. For similar reasons Spain’s property market got of control and they came within a whisker of needing a “bail-out” which they may yet need. Jobs disappeared and for a decade Spain has had over 25% adult unemployment and 50% youth unemployment, brought about by the Euro. Greece only collected a fraction of the tax it was due because of corruption, but the Greek people still wanted a high level of good public services. The only way this could be financed was by government borrowing. When Greek debt reached an unsustainable level a “bail-out” was needed. The ECB set tough austerity terms which brought hardship to millions of Greek citizens when public spending was slashed. Public sector pay, pensions, unemployment and other benefits were all drastically reduced. Unemployment rose to over 25% and youth unemployment rose to over 50%. This brought misery to millions in Greece, who at a general election elected an anti austerity party which formed a government. The new Greek government was forced to accept even harsher austerity terms as another “bail-out” was needed. Now there is no way Greece can possibly pay its debts, and debt write off is essential to give them a chance to recover. The ECB largely controlled by Germany would not agree to debt write off because the German people were growing impatient by being forced to finance bail-out after bail out. Germany is the only country to gain from the Euro. Because the PIGS kept the value of the Euro down on the international money markets making German exports, particularly high end exports much cheaper than they would have otherwise been had they still been using the mark. On the other hand the value of the Euro made Italian exports more expensive and thus Italy has been declining steadily for years pushing up unemployment, government borrowing and spending while tax revenues continue to fall. If things don’t change the Euro will cause Italy to follow Greece along the road to economic ruin. There is a last sting in the tail for euro members and that is there is no way out, once in you must stay in as there is no equivalent to Article 50 in the Maastricht Treaty which set up the euro.
The way the EU is structured makes is a bad origination for the UK be a member. Out of the current 28 members 11, including the UK, pay in more than the get out and 17 get out much more than they pay in. The direct payment of £10 Billion pounds a year the UK pays to the EU and does not get back, would be far better spent in the UK. Member states collect tariffs on all goods imported into the EU from outside and then hands it to Brussels, which in our case is about £8 Billion a year, which when we leave the EU we will be able to keep. These two examples represent a small part of the £2 Billion a week, the true costs of our EU membership.
Not having full control over our a 200 mile fishing limit costs the UK at least £5 Billion a year in fish lost to other countries which they catch and pay us nothing for our loss. More is lost by the UK because of the thousand of lost jobs in the fishing industry. That is not all, there are many thousand of lost jobs and businesses which would support and supply the fishing industry. As can be clearly seen we are massive losers due the Common Fisheries Policy. (CFP) The EU has not compensated us in any way for the loss of our fish and the lost jobs in our fishing industry. The EU’s CFP has allowed other member states to steal our fish. A further cost to the UK is the extra thousands of people we now have to support by paying benefits to those who lost their jobs in the fishing industry. Whole towns have been decimated by the CFP. Once we have left the EU we will be able to take back control of our territorial waters, declarer a 200 mile fishing limit, licence EU fishing in our waters and begin to rebuild our fishing fleet. The EU, true to their policy of punishing the UK for daring to leave, have said that if we do not allow EU fishing to continue then we will not be allowed to sell our fish in the EU. Again that will hurt them more than us as they will have a big “black hole” in their fishing supply once they are prevented catching our fish. We can then catch our own requirements and any surplus can add to the recovery of fish stocks.