2008 April 07 | eurealist.co.uk

A Declaration of interests from EU Referendum

Recipients of extremely handsome pensions from the EU, that is former Commissioners and MEPs, do not have to declare their pecuniary or any other interests when speaking in praise of the European project. It is worth recalling that the EU has the right to withdraw that pension, should any recipient make a statement that could be deemed to be against the interests of that organization. I don’t suppose they have ever done that to a former high official, not even when Lord Dahrendorf, a former Commissioner, spoke his many words of criticism.For all of that, if a research assistant has to declare his or her employment outside the House of Lords, handsome pensions from the EU cannot be seen as irrelevant to the matter in hand.

Filed under : The New Privileged Class
By Ken
On April 7, 2008
At 12:48 pm
Comments : 0

EU ministers call for wage restraint

Amid reports of ever rising prices, many of them caused by extra costs on business of meeting EU regulations on everything from social costs to environmental legalisation.

As reported in Busines Standard The EU is suddenly becoming worried about inflation with annual inflation in the 15-member eurozone provisionally estimated to have risen to 3.5 per cent last month, a 16-year high and far above the European Central Bank’s target rate of close to 2 per cent.

In February the Commission predicted a 2008 inflation rate of 2.6 per cent - the highest since the start of European monetary union in 1999 - and growth of 1.8 per cent. But is expected to revise those figures to raise its inflation forecast and cut its economic growth forecast later this month.

So what is the EU government going to do about it? Well it obvious they are going to have to do something to keep the inflation levels down, perhaps they will start a massive burning of the regulations, thus freeing industry from EU imposed shackles, or perhaps not! it look as if the ones who will be asked to make cuts are the wage earners, Governments, employers and trade unions across the eurozone were warned on Friday not to negotiate wage deals that risk pushing inflation to ever higher record levels and punishing the poorest members of society. EU Regulations of course do not punish the poorer members of society.

In Britain, thankfully, not part of the eurozone yet! According to some figures what with EU regulations arriving at the rate of 3,500 a year, the cost to us of membership is £100 billion per annum or 9% of our economy. According to the 2005 Anual Report of the Government’s Better Regulation Task Force. David Arculus, its Managing Director says EU regulation is now our biggest industry.

Filed under : Would we not be Better off Out
By Ken
On
At 12:04 pm
Comments : 0

Windfall for Power Generators

A new report of a study for the WWF this morning detailing the windfall profits to power companies from the European emissions trading scheme (ETS) the EU’s flagship market-based mechanism for a progressive reduction of carbon emissions.

Power companies in Spain, Italy, Germany, Britain and Poland are all set to make massive profits from their gifts of free emissions permits. The trick is these companies can pass on the costs of the emissions permits based on the trading figure even though they did not buy the permits in the first place.

The figures are staggering, the companies are set to make 71Billion euros profits, British supplies are set to make between €6 and €15 billion Germany between €14 and €34 Spain between €1 and €4 billion Italy between €6 and €9 billion and Poland €2 and €9 billion.

The idea behind the scheme is that it delivers additional revenues to low carbon forms of generation and they are a benefit because they do not incur any additional costs themselves by having to purchase pollution allowances.

A further benefit to reducing carbon is that increased prices to the consumer will cut demand for power and also boost the sales of energy efficient measures.

Even more good news for power generators was released this morning when Carbon Positive reported that the prices of EU carbon allowances have seen an upward trend over the past month, climbing 13 percent since a low point in early March. Prices are now at their highest levels since the early days of January.

I am probably missing something important here, but I am quite sure that if our old government - you know the one we used to elect to run this country,- came up with a hair brained scheme that penalised us the consumers and incidentally the voters, whilst at the same time rewarding the main polluters, in order to reduce carbon so that we can all save the world. Ignoring the fact that no matter what cuts we do, or do not make, will make not the slightest difference, because the overall world production of carbon will increase, because countries like China can produce as much as they like, if our old government were to come up with such an idea, there would be a massive political price to pay, come the next election.

It cannot therefore be an unconnected factor, that the EU, by not having to face the voters, can do anything is likes without any political fallout accruing to itself. And of course we are all supposed to applaud the EU for taking such action and happily stand by and see our industry hobbled on the world stage, in the cause of equalising our relative standards of living.