EU Referendum - Weekly review from the NO campaign from http://www.nocampaign.com/

Main events 4 - 10 June 2005 ( Part 1 )

UK Government drops referendum - but refuses to rule out back door implementation

This week the Government effectively abandoned plans to a referendum on the EU Constitution. Jack Straw told the House of Commons on Monday that the legislation which would have enabled a referendum to take place had been shelved. He said, "Until the consequences of [the Dutch and French] being unable to ratify the treaty are clarified, it would not be sensible to set a date."

Straw also argued in his speech that some parts of the Constitution, such as changes to member states' voting weights, could be introduced without a referendum in the UK. He said, "if the European Commission or the council [of ministers] were themselves to suggest that we should introduce these by other means, then it would be absurd to put those to a referendum. We ought to agree to them straight away." If the changes in the voting weights were to come into force, the UK's ability to block damaging EU legislation would be reduced by 30 percent.

At the beginning of the week, the Independent reported comments from a "senior government source" who said, "We don't want to pre-empt the European Council or be accused of bringing things in by the back door, but there are some sensible reforms that we could bring in" (Independent, 4 June).

EU leaders continued to insist that the ratification process should continue. Jean-Claude Junker, the Luxembourg Prime Minister said, "The process is not dead. It would be dead if the British government wanted to abandon the process, but this is not the case" (Agence Europe, 8 June). German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer insisted the no votes were, "not an end, rather an interruption". The Foreign Ministers of Italy and Spain also said that ratification should continue. (EUBusiness, 7 June and 4 June)

Luxembourg and Portugal have said that they plan to still hold their referendums. The Polish Prime Minister said that it was "likely" that Poland would still hold its referendum. Ireland, Denmark and the Czech Republic have said they will make a decision after the European Council meeting next Friday.

Europe's leaders have learned nothing from the resounding no votes in France and the Netherlands. Rather than accepting that people around the EU have said no to "ever closer union", EU leaders seem determined to press ahead regardless.

While EU leaders are currently pressing for the ratification process to continue, it seems likely that this will have to be abandoned at some stage - not least because the opinion polls have now turned sharply against the Constitution in Denmark and elsewhere.

However, EU leaders have shown their determination to press ahead with some kind of deal. This momentum is likely to be channelled into a drive for some kind of slimmed-down version of the Constitution, or an attempt to implement many of the ideas in the Constitution by the back door, under the existing treaties, without referendums. The UK Government's position threatens voters with the worst of both worlds - no referendum, but the implementation of the Constitution by stealth.

Pressure on UK to give up rebate

Latest news on the UK rebate added here 18 Dec 2005.

After voters' rejection of the Constitution, EU leaders are now attempting a fresh show of unity by reaching an agreement on the EU's future financial framework for 2007-13.

Jean Claude-Juncker has said that a deal is necessary to show that, "Europe still works and is capable of taking decisions".

Gerhard Schroeder, the German Chancellor, has signalled that he is prepared to do a deal and will allow the EU's budget to increase, leaving the UK's annual rebate as the only remaining sticking point in the negotiations. The German government said it would withdraw its offer to pay more if the UK did not give way on the rebate (Sunday Times, 5 June).

The Spanish Government also offered to accept a cut the subsidies it receives, provided the UK gives way on the rebate (FT, 10 June).

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said, "Our preference remains to have a radical revision of the UK rebate to bring into force a 'phasing out' mechanism" (FT, 10 June).

Jacques Chirac argued that, "The time has come for our English friends to understand that they have to make a gesture of solidarity for Europe." He added, "We cannot accept a reduction of direct aid to French farmers." However, Tony Blair hit back, saying, "Britain has been making a gesture because over the past 10 years, even with the British rebate, we have been making a contribution to Europe two and a half times that of France. Without the rebate, it would have been 15 times as much as France. So that is our gesture."

Following speculation that the UK might agree to "freeze" the UK's rebate from the EU budget at current levels, Gordon Brown ruled out any such concession. The rebate means that the UK gets back two thirds of the difference between what it contributes to the EU budget and what it receives from the EU.

The Treasury also this week released figures showing that even with the rebate the UK's payments to the EU are set to increase. The UK's contribution to the EU budget will rise to a record £10 billion a year by the financial year 2007-2008, up from £8.4 billion this year (2004-2005).

The no campaign has this week published new research on the EU budget and the rebate. It shows that taking account of inflation, in today's money the UK's contribution to the EU from 1973 to 2003 would have been £238 billion without the rebate, and was £181 billion even with the rebate. Over this period the UK paid in £75.6 billion more into the EU than we got out.  By 2007-8 UK contributions to the EU since 1973 will be £216 billion - meaning that we will have paid £92 billion more into the EU than the UK has received back.  Since 1994, the period for which figures are available, the EU's Court of Auditors has refused to sign off £511 billion of EU spending as unsafe or open to fraud. Given that the UK contributes around and eighth of the EU budget, the cost to the UK of EU spending which is open to fraud is around £64 billion.  Assuming the current rate of EU spending growth continues, and that the rebate is frozen at the 2005 level (3.3 billion) a "freezing" of the UK rebate would mean that over the period 2006-2020, the UK would pay in an extra £18.7 billion, on top of the £155 billion we would expect to pay over the period with the full rebate - an increase of roughly an eighth.  Spending on the EU, even with the rebate, is increasing relative to UK government departments. By 2007-8 the UK will spend more on the EU than on Work and Pensions, and more than on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), which deals with housing, homelessness and scientific research.

The EU has consistently failed to rectify the endemic fraud and corruption within its institutions. It would be absurd for the UK to give it even more money before it first sorts out its problems

Now we have charismatic leaders who say they know what is best for us but all they want is to have absolute rule over us ,so we can be arrested or put in jail just because a politician dislikes us and without any judge and jury determining if any law has been broken. Say NO and speak up about what you believe to be wrong.

Links:  EU Referendum - be euro-sceptic - everyone please just Vote NO

Page started 11 June 2005