Do we really want to be 'part of the European experience', Dr Paisley?
15 January 2008
During the visit to Brussels of the Joint First Ministers, Ian Paisley declared on behalf of Northern Ireland "we want to be part of the European experience".
The EU has a remarkable capacity to make itself look good by regularly re-announcing funding commitments already made. So it was during the visit to Brussels of the Joint First Ministers.
With much ado 1.1B Euro (£0.8B) of funding was trumpeted. But two realities should be grasped. First, there is not a penny of new money involved and, second, it merely amounts to the UK getting back some of its own money.
The £0.8B is Northern Ireland’s anticipated share of available EU funds for the 7 year period 2007-13. It has been known of and previously announced several times. It is our own money anyhow, because the EU of itself has virtually no resources, but recycles money paid in by member states.
The UK is the second largest net contributor to Brussels. Currently, in round figures, we pay in £12B per annum, get back £5B in grants and a further £3B in the diminishing “British Rebate”, meaning that the net cost to the UK of the EU per annum is of the order of £4 billion – and this is without taking account of the massive cost to British business of complying with EU regulations. Thus over the 7 years 2007-13 the UK can expect to contribute up to £100B, of which we in Northern Ireland will get back less than1%, or £0.8B. Northern Ireland’s pro-rata contribution to EU coffers over the same period will be approximately £2.5B. So, all is not as it is spun when it comes to EU funding!
This funding deficit situation has existed, year on year, for the 35 years which we have belonged to the EU. This, for the UK, has been what it has meant to be “part of the European experience”.
