EU costs the UK £15 billion a year or £41 million an hour in 2005.

*

Eurofacts

22nd September 2006.

Vol. 11 No23

UK Contribution to Brussels

Big Increase in 2005.

According to the UK’s official government statistical body, the ONS (Office for National Statistics, an offshoot of the Treasury), the UK’s net contribution to EU institutions in 2005

£6.1 billion , and increase of 20 per cent on the £5.1 billion paid over in 2004.

The UK’s gross contribution in 2005 was a record £15.0 billion, up 15 per cent on the 2004 figure of £13.1 billion. The UK received from “Brussels” £8.9 billion in 2005 (Refund of our own money to use on EU sponsored projects to promote the EU) , an increase of 11 per cent on the 2004 figure of £88.0 billion.

The 2005 rate of payment by the UK to “Brussels”, of £15.0 billion gross annually is equivalent to £289 million a week, or £41 million a day, or £1.72 million an hour.

The figures are set out in Table 9.2 on pages 125,126 and 127 of United Kingdom Balance of payments: The Pink Book 2006#.

# United Kingdom Balance of Payments :The Pink Book 2006: Office for National Statistics, July 2006

Free download: www.statistics.gov.uk…

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Government Publishes

Cost-Benefit Analysis of

EU Membership

Before you get excited by the prospect we should just mention the GOVERNMENT in MIND

IS NOT

THE UNITED KINGDOM.

For their honest assessment we may NEVER see the TRUE

FIGURES.

*

Annual Cost to Switzerland of alternative relationships with the EU: 2007 - 2013.

                                             Swiss francs millions     Index

Continue Bilateral Agreements --------------557 -------------100          Join EEA--------------------------------------------737--------------132

Join  EU (net contribution)---------------------3400-------------610

 Join  EU (gross contribution)-------------------4,940------------886

AT LAST , a European government has published a proper cost-benefit analysis of EU membership. It comes as no surprise that the government in question is not the one that sits (and occasionally governs) in London.

No, the government concerned is a grown-up one (on matters European , anyway) : the Swiss Federal Government in Berne.

Its Europe 2006 report published at the end of June 2006 is an admirably serious and comprehensive analysis of the COSTS and BENEFITS of EU membership.

It is remarkably honest. Its language is free of political correctness: it spells out bluntly and unequivocally the hundreds of areas in which

SWITZERLAND

-would lose

SOVEREIGNTY

-Yes! -sovereignty

-if it were ever to join the EU.

The authors insist that “Switzerland must define its…relations with the EU in such a way as to always be able to defend [Swiss] interests……

Switzerland’s relationship with the EU must not be considered as a simplistic ‘to join or not to join ‘question.. It is not so much a question of whether or not Switzerland should be a member of the EU, as of finding the best way and appropriate [policy] instrument for the government to achieve Switzerland’s fundamental goals and foreign policy objectives” . QUITE SO.

The report examines three alternatives:-

Ÿ      To continue the current set of Swiss-EU bilateral sector-specific agreements#;

Ÿ       

Ÿ      To join the European Economic Area (EEA)

Ÿ      To become a full member of the EU.

The ongoing budgetary costs to Switzerland of each of the alternatives are summarized in the above table. Full EU membership would cost SIX to NINE times

As much as the current system of Bilateral Agreements, depending on whether the base-line is the net or gross contribution to the EU Budget.

The report warns that: “the negative economic effects (higher real domestic interest rates on joining the euro, net contribution to the EU Budget are likely in the short and medium term to outweigh any positive effects resulting from full Single Market integration”

And that the “budgetary” costs do not reflect the further “dynamic” effects associated with each alternative.

The report concludes that Switzerland’s interests are best served by continuing to develop the existing system of bilateral sector-specific agreements with the EU. It is the mirror-image of exercises currently undertaken by those

IN THE UK

who wish to

DEFEND BRITISH INTERESTS

-by radically-changing the current UK-EU relationship.

*www.europa.admin.ch Home Page:

Click on “English”; Europe 2006 report “Information file on the Europe 2006 Report (unofficial translation)”

The condensed English version runs to 12 pages; the full report in French is 157 pages and in German 164 pages.

#described in Global Britain briefing Note No 36, Nov 2004, Cherry Picking,

www.globalbritain.org

*          *          *

[Font altered-bolding & underlining used-comments in brackets]

SEPTEMBER/06

*

*

*

Let the people speak!

www.makeitanissue.org.uk

www.noliberties.com

[Latest Addition - June07]

*

www.eutruth.org.uk

*

www.thewestminsternews.co.uk

*

www.speakout.co.uk

*

Daniel Hannan - Forming an OPPOSITION to the EU

www.telegraph.co.uk.blogs

*

GORDON BROWN WANTS TRUST-BUT WHY WON'T HE TRUST YOU?

HELL ON EARTH IN IRAQ

*

67% want powers back from EU-ICM poll-June 21-2007-95% of British people want a REFERENDUM

*

PETITION

FOR A

REFERENDUM

SIGN TODAY ON LINE

telegraph.co.uk/eureferendum

*  July 18-2007

VOTE

 -2007

TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION

WITH THE ONLY PARTY WITH A MANDATE

TO SET YOU

 FREE

THE

UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY

www.ukip.org

THE QUESTION THAT THE VOTER MUST ANSWER

‘DO YOU WISH TO BE GOVERNED BY YOUR OWN PEOPLE, LAW AND CUSTOM OR BY THE CORRUPT ,EXPENSIVE UNACCOUNTABLE AND CORRUPT ALIEN BUSYBODY BRUSSELS’

-SIMPLE IS IT NOT?

TO RECLAIM YOUR DEMOCRACY DON'T VOTE FOR THE TRIPARTITE PARTIES IN WESTMINSTER

BUT

SMALL PARTIES THAT SPEAK THEIR MINDS WITHOUT SPIN AND LIES.

*

ONLY

PRO-PORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

WILL BRING DEMOCRACY BACK TO THE ENGLISH PEOPLE

*

SCOTLAND -ITS PARLIAMENT -WALES-ITS ASSEMBLY-ENGLAND-STILL AWAITS ITS PARLIAMENT-WHY?

*

Home Rule for Scotland

WHY NOT

HOME RULE for ENGLAND

*

[All underlined words have a separate bulletin]