Allister delivers Euro-sceptic critique on 50th anniversary of Rome treaty
15 May 2007
Member of the European Parliament, Jim Allister QC has delivered a strong Euro-sceptic message on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treat of Rome. Speaking at a public meeting organised by NICVA on the theme of “the EU at 50” Mr. Allister highlighted issues such as the massive annual cost of the EU to the UK, over-regulation and red tape emanating from Brussels, the major democratic deficit at the heart of the Union and the wasteful use of resources here in Northern Ireland as proof positive that we would be better off out of the EU.
In a no-holds barred address Jim Allister said:
“I come today not to praise the EU, but to bury it. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome – a treaty which bound its signatories to the creation of “an ever closer” Union. We in the United Kingdom have been a part of that Economic Union for more than a third of a century. We are therefore able to look back over our membership and are entitled to ask, have we received value for our money? The obvious answer to that question is a resounding no. The United Kingdom has since 1973 been a net contributor to the European Union – year on year we have poured millions into the black hole that is the EU – last year the net cost to us was £4billion, even after the British rebate, – and what do we get in return? £6 billion a year in regulation – that’s £120million a week in the cost of red-tape emanating from Brussels. These are not my figures but come from official government statistics.
Ours is a trading nation and over 50% of our trade is outside the EU. Yet, we, through our EU membership, are prohibited from entering any trade agreement with any country, even our biggest trading partner – the United States of America. Only the EU can conclude trade agreements on behalf of all members, such is the loss of sovereignty and independence which flows from EU membership. Countless billions have been lost to the UK economy, and are still being lost, both in direct contributions and in curbs to our trading interests. By any reasonable assessment membership of the European Union has hampered our economy and prevented growth.
The democratic deficit of the European Union is astounding. Only the Commission, not Parliament, can initiate legislation. Some legislation Parliament cannot even amend and at best gets to share legislative powers with the Council in some areas. The European Parliament is the only parliament in the world prohibited from itself deciding where it will sit. Hence the lunacy of meeting in both Brussels and Stasbourg. We have a fully equipped parliament building and 2650 offices in Strasbourg standing idle for 307 days a year and why? Because an EU Treaty, on French insistence, requires that the Parliament must meet 12 times a year in Strasbourg, costing EU taxpayers 300 million per annum and 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions!
Of course, the EU never lets the facts stand in the way of it proclaiming success for itself. Peace in Europe is the prime example of this. I would contend that the forces of NATO and the Thatcher – Reagan axis might have had a little more to do with the preservation of peace on the European continent than the bumbling, fumbling EU did. By any measure, the EU has failed this country and it is indeed apparent that we would be better off out!
If the EU is the answer, then it must have been a very stupid question.”
