EU costs UK £4,110,000,000.00!
01 July 2008
The net annual cost to the UK of EU membership rocketed by almost 20% in 2007/08 to a staggering £4,110 million, according to government published figures. In 2007/08 the UK contributed £13,763 million to the EU, received back £5,693 million in grants and £3,960 in the British rebate, leaving a huge net loss of £4,110 million – a net loss of over £80 million per week to the British taxpayer!
All of which makes the UK second only to Germany as the top paymaster of Europe.
When added to this is the £6,000 million per annum cost to British business, which HMG has confirmed arises from complying with EU regulations, then the price of belonging to the EU is crippling.
|
Source: Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2008 HC 489 |
2002-03 |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2007-08 |
|
|
9,738 |
11,370 |
12,183 |
11,780 |
12,245 |
13,763 |
|
|
3,233 |
3,874 |
3,722 |
3,641 |
3,560 |
3,960 |
|
|
3,424 |
4,235 |
4,555 |
3,750 |
5,164 |
5,693 |
|
Net cost to UK |
3,081 |
3,261 |
3,906 |
4,389 |
3,521 |
4,110 |
Commenting Jim Allister said, “As the EU has expanded, the burden of paymaster of Europe on the UK is becoming unbearable. The drain on our national resources is phenomenal, particularly when you realise we’ve been a huge net contributor every year since we joined 35 years ago. How much longer are we going to go on pouring billions into the black hole that is Brussels, before it is realised we’d be better off out? The question should not be whether we afford to leave, but can we afford to stay.”
