eurealist.co.uk

One thing with the EU when it gets an idea in its collective head it keeps on about it until it gets what it wants, even if that means years and years of waiting for the right moment.

Ever since Margaret Thatcher held up EU proposals until she got her way over our payments to the EU, they have wanted to reverse the agreement they made. So they give in on something to get their way over something else, and then they come back and want to take back what they gave. Call me naive if you like but I would have thought that, if the EU now wishes to repeal their agreement over Britain’s rebate, then we should take the stance that of course then everything else is back on the table, and we will insist that they undo the original agreement. So that, which Mrs Thatcher agreed to in order to get our rebate, must now be reversed. The ratchet seems to work in all spheres of EU negotiation.

The French of course are all for the EU rescinding the rebate but of course they are quite happy with everything about the EU just as long as France does not have to participate or contribute without the rebate each British person would pay 15 times the amount of a Frenchman.

Of course as the rebate question rumbles, on we should remember that the cost of being a member of this Union is set to grow in any case, and that any figure produced must show the increase costs and the loss of the rebate to have any sense in a cost benefit analysis were the government ever to feel safe enough to produce one.

It looks like with the increases asked for and the loss of the rebate Britain will become the biggest paymaster for the EU, for the British government to allow this to happen, when the EU cannot even convince its own audit court that its can account for the money it spends would be the height of irresponsibility.