Wir haben kein Vertrauen in Europa

The cornerstones of a good relationship are trust, communication and fidelity. Without these, love alone is not enough to keep a marriage happy.

No, my blog hasn't been commandeered by an over zealous Agony Aunt, relationhip counsillor or spammed by a Thai registered company that is building up to redirect dissatisfied husbands and wives to a site selling suspect medicines.

I am instead referring to the buckles in the EU tracks that could cause the project to derail.

In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung a recent opinion poll has recorded German public sentiment towards the EU at an all time low. The findings of the survey conducted by the Allensbach Institute show that German citizens' trust in the EU has waned to what would democratically be a near critical level. 63% of respondents had "little or no trst" in the EU, representing a 51% increase since this time last year. Only a quarter had "large trust" in European integration, representing a fall of 37% ten months ago. Meanwhile some 68% of those questioned said they had little or no trust in the single currency.

So what's so urgent about these findings? Surely a similar poll canvassed in the UK would garner such results. But this we, and Brussels, have known for a long, long time. The shock factor here is that not only are Germans historically the EU's stalwarts, but also somewhat of a keystone of the whole project, the lynchpin of the Eurozone economy and the very broad shoulders upon which the weight of the Union's woes are carried. If Germany cracks, well, the whole Union is thrown into jeopardy.

I mentioned earlier, and with a deliberate piquancey, that public opinion was at a democratically dangerous level. Now I am not suggesting the Euro hardballer is about to take to the streets of Berlin and upturn blazing cars and stone police, a la Tunis. I somehow do not equate this with the Germanic poise that made this country such a reliable and effective European ringleader. But democratically, were politics socially reactive in the way that political philosophers believe they ought to be, if affect moved from bottom to top before translating into effect, well this would mean a cataclysmic shift in the shape of the Union. However, any grassroots discontent, as regarded in the equally stoic comportment of the British, is unlikely to even ripple at the bureaucratic level in the Bundestag, and subsequently, Brussels.

It is also thus pertinent to point out that only 4% of those surveyed could correctly answer the question "Who Is Herman Van Rompuy?"

What is more surprising? The fact that Baroness Ashton has slotted herself nicely into some sort of legal loophole that prevents her from having to pay full tax or the fact that, despite being born and raised her, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs has not been to Blighty at all in her current capacity as an EU supremo.
Well, neither really.
We shouldn't be surprised that yet again EU fatcats have conjured up ways to keep their claws on greedy stashes of taxpayers money (lest we forget that it is you, the citizen of the EU who is paying her wage and you, the citizen of the cash strapped UK who will not benefit from her withheld taxes). We should also not be surprised that 10 Downing Street is the last place the Labour, Europhile sovereignty sapping High Rep would want to go, well, at least while DC is trying to prove to his backbenchers that he IS serious about placing a stranglehold on the UK-EU power shift.
(I do usually cross reference with the BBC here, that bastion of neutrality of course, who unlike every other media platform in the UK has not reported Ashton loopholegate, so here is the Telegraph's representation)
According to that article: her salary of £230,000 a year(£100,000+ more than Hillary Clinton) is paid at a reduced tax rate that begins at eight per cent and only rises to 45 per cent after an earnings ceiling of £70,000. While the reduced rates are automatic, EU officials can choose to give the difference to the exchequer in their home country, a political party or a charity, but most, including her, do not.
So when she next, along with her cronies, stands up in front of Parliament and argues why the EU needs more money, or finances should be driven into this project, or in that direction, I hope someone points out that she herself could be a bit more honest about the state of her personal finances and the hypocrisy of Eurocrats banging on about the need for more investment from member states, when ultimately, nobody benefits but them.
It has also been in the news recently that the EU are fining British councils a total of around £1bn for misuse of funds etc. This is from the organisation that for a 14th year in a row has not had it's annual accounts signed off by auditors. Worse still is the added insult that under the Localism Bill, councils will be made liable for many of the fines imposed on the UK for breaking EU rules. So that means unsuspecting citizens will see local councils closing libraries, cutting street lighting, not repairing roads, reducing services all because Brussels says we have not spent the money we recoup from our huge membership fees as they wish.
Yet again, the solution isn't hard to imagine...

Can Politicians actually do their job?

The Welsh Assembly Government First Minister Carwyn Jones has called upon the public to help him do his job, it would seem. Much like the UK Government's window dressing PR push just after the 2010 election, the European Commission have invited citizens across Europe to put forward their ideas on how structural funds should be spent, applauded and promoted by our man in Wales.
Yet what doesn't quite connect here is that only a few months ago I made a speech to Parliament after going through the 5th report on Cohesion Policy where the future of structural funds and the Commission's intentions were clearly laid out.
In this document it was discussed that there would be a narrowing of policy where Brussels would have rgeater say in here money was spent. It seems a bit odd then that they are turning to members of the public to put forward their ideas. I would imagine the stunt is going to be as useful as the same exercise carried out by UK Government last year. Afterall, the complaints about health and safety have evidentally fallen on deaf ears. Just today I was reading how a Welsh school teacher has been sacked for allowing pupils to use a sledge on school grounds during the snow. He had brought in the sledge to demonstrate design adn technology and clearly thought it was a fun, hands on way to engage with the pupils and bring to life a subject. It is so disappointing that more and more health and safety encroaches on harmless fun.
In the news yesterday too was an argument brewing over who should pay for the port of Angelesey's £60m redevelopment. Westminster says it's devolved, WAG says it isn't. Is this what we should expect from now on? Matters are devolved when it suits WAG but not when it doesn't. Above all, it's highly embarrassing that Politicians go on air and show the voters just how inept they really are. Perhaps someone could file it as a suggestion to the European Commission who seem to have no idea all of a sudden how they wish to spend their structural funds.

What a mess Eur in now...

Over recent months the EU has been in the news quite a lot. For a change.
But it's not good news, whatever spin you put on it.
All the critics of the Euro are now champing at the bit to say "I told you so" - but what good will that do?
The single currency could never work across such a disparate collection of states. In order for one currency to stand the test of time, economies must be put on an even keel, which means homogenizing various attributes of trading, lending and business across the board. In order in turn to achieve this sort of commonality, politics too and domestic spending must be equatable. In Greece the cause of collapse has been put down to flagrant overspends of public money and ludicrous under-taxing. In Ireland, it's the reckless lending of banks that have bled the country dry. Spain, Portugal and Italy, and now, so they say, Belgium, are also at risk of falling, connected by a now bitterly devalued currency that will find it tremendously hard to get back on its feet. Surely there can be no future for the Euro, as such problems will come round time and again unless a federal inter-country bloc is established. And it's not just UKIP who detest the thought of that. It goes against the public wishes of nearly every member state. Losing sovereignty is an issue, therefore, so is a single currency.
But this of course poses a problem for the EU, who ultimately want to see deeper integration, a centralised political state of Europe. Without the Euro, what else have the Commission got to justify an onslaught of common legislation? Some might say introducing the Euro before creating a federal state was building the trains before laying the tracks. Derailing was a guarantee.
So what will happen now?
Certainly the EU must cling to the Euro to justify the whole project isn't jeopardized. Even Van Rompuy came out with a sweeping statement to this tune. But clinging isn't as easy as it sounds. If Portugal falls next, the European Central Bank and EU reserves available for bail outs would just cover the costs. But if this happens, what about Spain, with a far bigger balance sheet? The ECB itself risks having to be bailed out and the only economy that could wade in and help is Germany, whose population is already calling for a return to the Deutschmark. Surely in a "democratic" institution, the vox populi should shine through?
Well we are yet to see that happen, on Lisbon, on monetary union, on all sorts. But the next round of national elections in certain countries could see a lot of anti European sentiment develop, and national governments less cooperative than the France and Germany of today who have negotiated setting up a crisis cash reserve for the next loose thread.
Below are some vids of what was a very busy week in Strasbourg. I think that rather than try to write about everything I spoke about, it would be easier to post the clips instead!

Gross misrepresentation

You may have seen on the day or subsequent to publication an article in the Daily Mail suggesting I was wrongly claiming daily allowances by signing in to Parliament on the morning of Friday 12th November despite the fact I had a day of meetings to attend before I could leave for Wales.

I want to make clear that I work very hard with my staff to make any claims entirely transparent and in accordance with both the codes of conduct of the Parliament and what I believe is just. I do not and never will over-claim allowances or see paid expenses as a profit making opportunity.

The system in place has plenty of flaws.

I have issued a statement informing the press I am pursuing this matter. I do not accept the implications of what was reported in both the newspaper and by the programme which grossly misrepresented me as a politician and an individual.

The statement reads:

"I strongly refute the suggestion made by the Daily Mail on Saturday 13^th November 2010 and by the Channel Four Dispatches programme on Monday 15^th November 2010 to the effect that on Friday 12^th November 2010 I claimed my daily allowance at the European parliament improperly. I am currently seeking legal advice on this matter."

EU must be joking!

On the same day that George Osborne delivered to the UK his package on cuts the EU voted to increase their budget by 6%. I can't think of one EU country not having to claw back lost taxpayer contributions that have been swallowed by deficit and similarly wish to reiterate that just weeks ago Brussels passed legislation allowing the EU to fine any country that fails to keep within stipulated limits of debt.

Rumour has it that within the budget increase is an augmented allowance for champagne receptions and limousines.

This is not just a drop in the ocean though. With the EU now making some 75% of our legislation, proposing direct taxation, demanding to scrutinise our budgets and setting up a Foreign Office power is becoming increasingly centralised while the nation states are being subsumed by relinquishing public services to afford massive debts. Whilst some countries have been worth bail outs from Brussels, others haven't, and of course, those that did qualify are all using the doom ridden Euro, the centrepiece of Brussels' federal display.

It's appalling that we are still a member of this ridiculously expensive club and what irritates me further is the Westminster Government being far too complicit in Europe's every whim. Isn't it about time Osborne suggests cutting the UK out of Europe?

If we left Europe there would be no need for cuts at all. Considering the £81 billion of savings George Osborne has outlined for the next five years, it's interesting to point out that our contributions to Brussels over the same period amount to £82 billion. Not only that but billions would be saved on not having to administer EU law, pay child support to EU migrants and provide employment and education for anyone from the other member states wishing to settle here.

At £45 million a day, that works out as £16 million a year. Multiply by five and what do you get?

£45,000,000 x 365 days = £16,425,000,000 per year

X

5 Years = £82,125,000,000

And those calculations don't even include the 6% budget increase Brussels has ludicrously secured. The numbers surely speak for themselves.

Fight For Funds

It's not often I go with the begging bowl outstretched in Europe, but when thousands of jobs have been created under the auspices of an EU programme in Wales which is set to be cut in 3 years then I will do my utmost to protect my country.
Regional Development funds, structural funds, convergence, cohesion...It's all been in the press lately as it is becoming clear that East Wales could lose £280m worth of funding after 2013. Martin Shipton ran an article on it in today's Western Mail after meeting with us in Brussels yesterday. Regional Development funding accounts for a significant proportion of the very little the UK actually recoups from soaring membership fees. £280m that is therefore rightfully ours, in Wales, in the first place, given that the UK actually pays some £6bn to Brussels and will likely pay more year on year.
I have addressed the Budget Commissioner over the issue when he came to speak with my Committee on Regional Development. President Barroso recently visited Wales and was escorted around the Assembly on a Structural Funds Presentation. All the Welsh MEPs are working together to make sure that Wales doesn't lose out on the cash, and to guarantee transitory arrangements to protect us socially and economically if Brussels do decide to pull the rug from under our feet.
Below is video of me speaking in Parliament earlier today on the issue.

Keep your eyes on the press too, for they've got wind of the story, and for once, the EU is being reported.