EU
'COSTS FAMILIES £428 A YEAR
EVERY family could save £428 a year if Britain negotiated a Swiss-style
arms-length relationship with the EU, a study claims
Researchers who analysed the cost and benefits of EU
membership -which successive governments have refused to do - say up to £10.8
billion a year could be clawed back. They say a
relationship like that of Switzerland - which retains free trade access to EU
markets and co-operates voluntarily in other areas such as the environment-would
also let Britain regain control of key policy areas.
There could even be further savings from escaping the costs of
EU regulation and increased access to non-EU markets.
Economist Ruth Lea, who carried out research for the taxpayers
Alliance, said the desperate state of the public finances has made a rethink of
Britain's contributions to the EU more urgent than ever.
She added: 'British taxpayers [ more specifically
English taxpayers] pour huge amounts of money into the EU 's coffers and really
don't get a very good deal in return'. Cuts in
the UK's EU budget rebate, negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, mean
our contributions are set to rise dramatically.
The Taxpayers' Alliance plans a major campaign to highlight
the findings.
Daily Mail ,Saturday, November 14,2009
www.taxpayersalliance.org
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Switzerland and the European
Union: A model for Britain, by Glen Ruffle
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If Britain votes No associate membership will be offered
of Free Market and not Political says Giscard d’Estaing and others.
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LISBON TREATY
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