eurealist.co.uk

MEP`s join budget debate

José Manuel Barroso “The European Parliament has shown leadership and good sense by putting the policy needs of the EU first. We respect the work done by MEPs in this domain, and note with satisfaction that they are backing a budget on the same scale proposed by the commission. I hope member states can follow this example, and match resources to requirements, rather than impose arbitrary limits.”

Thus spoke the EU Commission President when he welcomed the parliament budget blueprint which oddly coincided with that of the Commision.

Unfortunately it does not recognise that the EU`s largest cash contributors – Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands – are all seeking to slash EU expenditure. As they are the paymasters it might have been pertinent to realise that if they say they will not contribute more to the EU, then it must cut its cloth according to the finances that are going to be available. If that means the EU will have less money to waste, less money to spend on propaganda, less money to give to terrorist organisations, less money to put into their own trough, then they should accept that, and look at ways of cutting waste and ways to make their accounts balance, so that we a not faced with an 11th year when their own accountants refuse to accept their financial records as being anything other than a fairy story.