Jonathan Arnott urges Labour politicians to come clean over EU funding
Published Jan 12, 2016
A UKIP member of the European Parliament has urged Labour
politicians to 'come clean' over EU funding. In recent weeks, there have been
plenty of calls for the UK to apply for EU cash to help flooding victims and
those who have lost their jobs in the steel industry, from two pots of funding
known as the Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the Solidarity Fund. But UKIP MEP
Jonathan Arnott, who is a member of the European Parliament's Budget Committee,
reveals that they're not quite telling the full story in either
case.
Jonathan Arnott said "The Labour Party are quick to say the government
should apply for the cash, but in both cases they need to tell the whole truth
and nothing but the truth. The fact is, if we apply for EU funding for either of
these worthwhile causes, the European Union will take two-thirds of the money
off us by reducing our rebate the following year. For every £3 we apply for in
funding, the rules say they will take £1.98 back off us. After considering that
the money comes with strings attached, and the costs of applying for it, it's
really a marginal call whether we should be asking for them to give us some of
our own money back or not.
"We've paid in our taxes to be in the European Union anyway, but if we
apply for some of our own money back, they'll take even more off us the
following year. But it's the most ardent pro-EU politicians who are the most
vocal about requesting this funding. Most of them know perfectly well that most
of the money will be confiscated back off us if we apply for it; it's a
confidence trick designed to make everyone feel that the European Union is on
their side"
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