Saturday, December 17

Funding choice

In the early hours of this morning Tony Blair caved in to the French and handed over another billion a year to keep the shambolic European Union (EU) in business. Most people have become, understandably, bored and confused with the whole question of the EU budget.

It may, therefore, come as an uncomfortable shock to know that the Prime Minister has agreed to fund Eastern Europe over the next seven years a nice round £ 1 billion per year; this being roughly the same amount of money as the current total NHS deficit.

If it comes to a choice between bankrolling Poland so that it can improve its sewerage and upgrade the Warsaw underground system, or correctly funding the UK's NHS system I am sure that taxpayers would prefer their money to stay at home.

Actually, the real detailed question is: should we be giving money to the EU so that it can support a corrupt, decaying, dirigiste financial system that requires emerging economies to turn to the begging-bowl to fund necessary projects? The answer, from here, is an unequivocal "no".

As The Sun newspaper put it today:

''A billion here, a billion there and pretty soon you are talking about real money.'' Each Pound shrinks by 20p just by passing through the bureaucratic EU wringer. Vast sums are sprayed around the world in inefficient aid. Much of the rest sticks to grubby fingers as its passes along the line.
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Some actually ends up in new roads and bridges, but in the most expensive way imaginable. Year after year, EU auditors refuse to sign off the accounts.Tony Blair had a chance to put a bomb under this scandal last night. He could have vetoed plans to spend even more and force a shake-up of the whole shambles.Instead, to Gordon Brown's fury, the PM signed up to an extra £7 billion over seven years. ''
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That's money the Chancellor must find in higher taxes to pay for a spending splurge which is running out of steam. ''


Indeed. The newly appointed shadow foreign secretary William (the vague) Hague said: ''Seldom in course of European negotiations has so much been surrendered for so little''. That may sound all very cleaver but actually only goes to prove that yet an other conservative politician has never read (or clearly understood) the Masastricht Treaty of 1992.

Thus is the poor qualitly of our politicians, in God and the people we must trust - there is no other choice.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So much for Tiny Blair's efforts to refoem CAP ! Bugger Blair bugger the French !