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This Is Devon from Graham BoothWE CAN’T AFFORD SUBSIDIES FOR ALL

Your columnist Kate Ironside seems to have her morals all mixed up in her recent article. If you read my speech to the EU Parliament last month its contents may straighten out her muddled thinking.

It is very tempting to offer all of Europe’s poorer regions vast subsidies, but perhaps we should remember that West Germany has already spent some EUR 900 billion trying to create a level playing field for their relatively small neighbour, East Germany. That should ring serious alarm bells, but we are turning a deaf ear. The eight eastern European countries that have already joined the EU, plus Bulgaria and Romania, have been promised g139 billion out of the total structural funds budget of g336 billion for the period 2007 to 2013.

An exhibition that the Dutch Presidency put on in Brussels last December predicted that another ten impoverished countries will join the EU by 2022. Based on Germany’s experience, the costs will be absolutely astronomical and attainable only if the big three member states - Germany, Britain and France - are prepared to impoverish themselves in the process. It is about time we scrapped this whole crazy idea and helped out those poorer countries by creating opportunities for increased trade, tourism, etc.

I can well believe that Tony Blair will agree to impoverish Britain in his quest for European popularity, but I cannot imagine Mr Chirac doing the same thing to France.

The EU is a political experiment aimed at “ever closer union” of the member states that have largely been led into the project by the political elites in each country.

Certainly as far as the UK is concerned, neither Mr Blair nor any of his predecessors has the mandate to pursue anything other than a “Common Market”, which is what we voted for in 1975.

However, as a leaked memo from the Foreign Office - AKA the Vichy Brigade - shows, the UK will drop from being 20th out of 25 in the EU handout rankings at present to being 27th out of 27 by 2007 when Bulgaria and Romania will have joined the EU. At the same time we will, under Blair’s current proposals end up paying more than 50% more than at present.

I struggle to see any moral issue of the type claimed by Kate Ironside but not specified, in this disastrous condition.

The EU is a vast confidence trick aimed at stealing sovereignty and independence from free nations and is the most immoral issue I can think of.

Perhaps Ms Ironside could develop a proper moral case for the EU? Now that would be an interesting article!

Graham Booth MEP

Paignton

Many Thanks Dr Cooper