Visions of Europe (2): Saying “Adieu” to the continent
29 December 2009
The Daily Telegraph
London
Most English people look like this. Self styled campaigner Ray Egan as John Bull protesting against the euro outside the Houses of Parliament, June 2005. (AFP)
Furious with a £14 billion contribution to the bureaucrats of far-off Brussels, lagging behind Norway in GDP, some Englanders have had enough with the European project. Dreaming of the day when Britain becomes an offshore paradise for global investors, Tory MEP Daniel Hannan gives 10 reasons to leave the EU.
1. Since we joined the EEC in 1973, we have been in surplus with every continent in the world except Europe. Over those 27 years, we have run a trade deficit with the other member states that averages out at £30 million per day.
2. In 2010 our gross contribution to the EU budget will be £14 billion. To put this figure in context, all the reductions announced by George Osborne at the Conservative Party Conference would, collectively, save £7 billion a year across the whole of government spending.
3. On the European Commission’s own figures, the annual costs of EU regulation outweigh the advantages of the single market by €600 to €180 billion.
4. The Common Agricultural Policy costs every family £1200 a year in higher food bills. Read full article in The Daily Telegraph...