Mark Reckless MP has launched his proposal to reduce the EU budget. The Prime Minister's position is to call for a real terms freeze.
Personally, I'd love the see the EU budget reduced but I'd don't think it is possible. There are too many other countries which will not accept the position whereas there's quite a few influential countries who will stick by the real term freeze. We have to be realistic and if we go in with an unrealistic prospect we will just have to use the veto. If we veto then the budget will go up two percent, and we run the risk of future budgets being decided by qualified majority voting.
It's also playing into the Labour party hands. They've leapt onto this as a way of causing problems for the PM, they're not a real believer in lower budgets - otherwise they wouldn't have built up a huge structural deficit. Also at the last negotiation, they willingly gave up £5 Bn annual rebate for a supposed reduction of the CAP budget - which of course was never going to happen. They're just being cynical.
So let's be serious, stick to the freeze and hope we can push it through.We're going to have to reserve our vetos for the point when we have to threaten to stop further integration without a looser arrangement for the UK within an EEC type Europe.
We have to play this smart.
Squiffy.
Tuesday 30 October 2012
Wednesday 17 October 2012
If it's Merkel To Cameron, you're muppets - then bring it on!
It's been reported that Angela Merkel has compared David Cameron and Britain to Statler and Waldorf from the muppets. We're always grumbling and being obstructive.
Too right! Yes, we grumble. The reason we grumble is that no-one under the age of 50 has had a say on the terms of our EU membership, and those that did get to vote in the 1975 referendum believed they were voting to stay in an economic union. Only a few in 1975 believed we were on a never ending story of integration and submission to an unelected bureaucracy.
We are now at a crunch point. Our politicians in the UK are also coming to that conclusion. We now have an administration which on the whole wants to change the status quo. Although the core of the EU is trying to head to some federal system, probably without consulting the EU population, as is their way. We know we don't want it.
Finally the EU leaders, such as the German Chancellor, have realised that they can't just shove what they want past the UK PM and have come to the conclusion that there will need to be a two speed Europe. There's even talk of a separate budget for Eurozone members.
Hurrah, it's what a lot of us has been saying for a long time. Finally the EU elite is coming into line with the general population. It's taken about 20 years, but sense may finally be about to break out. We may finally get to be in a sphere like the old EEC, pity the poor countries which will not have a say.
It will still take several years though!
Squiffy.
Too right! Yes, we grumble. The reason we grumble is that no-one under the age of 50 has had a say on the terms of our EU membership, and those that did get to vote in the 1975 referendum believed they were voting to stay in an economic union. Only a few in 1975 believed we were on a never ending story of integration and submission to an unelected bureaucracy.
We are now at a crunch point. Our politicians in the UK are also coming to that conclusion. We now have an administration which on the whole wants to change the status quo. Although the core of the EU is trying to head to some federal system, probably without consulting the EU population, as is their way. We know we don't want it.
Finally the EU leaders, such as the German Chancellor, have realised that they can't just shove what they want past the UK PM and have come to the conclusion that there will need to be a two speed Europe. There's even talk of a separate budget for Eurozone members.
Hurrah, it's what a lot of us has been saying for a long time. Finally the EU elite is coming into line with the general population. It's taken about 20 years, but sense may finally be about to break out. We may finally get to be in a sphere like the old EEC, pity the poor countries which will not have a say.
It will still take several years though!
Squiffy.
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