More about Less

According to the Local Government International Bureau (LGIB - a very Soviet sounding title but we are told that are all very good eggs, really) the European Commission is threatening to suspend Structural Fund payments to the UK unless it improves its auditing of how the money is spent.

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Graham Meadows, the Director General for Regional Policy at the LGIB , has said that "irregularities" have been found in all English regions, including the North East but noteabley not the (beautiful) South West - that's the huge 'Region' consisting of the counties of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Gloustershire.

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Now we have what we think is a good and very simple idea. If we were to suspend all of our payments of considerably larger sums into the EU coffers (many millions) until such time when the EU's Court of Auditors finally signs off an annual (or any other) budget.

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Now that is really very simple. So simple in fact that it is probably missing the point.

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Actually there is no such thing as ''European money ''. Yes we know that many people in Government set ups, particularly regional government type bods, in the ever expanding organisations (and their 'quango derivitaves') talk of this wonderfull ''European Funding''. But it is really British Tax payers money paid back to the British people by the EU Commision with huge (and non-negioatable) conditions. Well now, soon it will not even be that good since we will (as we have poined out in Troy's briefs) be paying many millions more and getting back many millions less.

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The real reason that there will soon be hardly any EU Structural Funds available is all because of the vast and costly needs of the needs of the eastern European '' Member States''.

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The obvious question is: would we not be better off out (of the EU) ? Answers below in the comments box please.