UK NEWS

EXCLUSIVE: HOW THE EU PUTS 20% ON OUR FOOD BILLS

BILL: Shopping is more costly thanks to the EU

Monday March 30,2009

By Nick Fagge

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(27)

BRITISH families are each paying £400-a-year to finance the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, a report will reveal today.

The CAP costs British taxpayers £10.3billion-a-year and researchers claim it has made food here a fifth more expensive. It also gives our farmers a raw deal compared to the French, Germans and Italians.

Brussels bureaucrats have bound the agricultural industry in red tape and doled out millions of pounds in subsidies to wealthy landowners, claims the report Food For Thought, compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The group’s Matthew Elliott said: “The CAP is a disaster. While taxpayers do everything they can to balance their household budgets to make ends meet, the unaccountable bureaucrats in Brussels are wasting billions.

“Not only are people’s taxes squandered on red tape and subsidies for the wealthy but food prices in the shops are higher as a result.

“It is time we took back control of how our agriculture is managed and how our taxes are spent.”

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the solution was to get out of Europe.

“Every British Prime Minister and opposition leader has promised at every single election that they will reform the CAP but they have not,” he said. “We will never reform the CAP because the French won’t let it happen. We’re paying a fortune for our food to subsidise rich landowners.”

In 1984 Margaret Thatcher won a £3billion-a-year CAP rebate for Britain – but Tony Blair gave it up in 2005 to salvage his EU Presidency.

Britain gets £3.8billion-a-year from the CAP, compared to France’s £8.4billion. Germany gets £5.4billion and Italy £4.6billion. But Britain has as much farmland as Germany and more than Italy.

Most of the UK’s payments to the scheme come through increased food prices, with £5.3billion handed over this way as a result of the 20 per cent levy on food bought in this country.

Europe Minister Caroline Flint said last night: “The CAP does not serve the best interests of farmers or consumers across Europe.

“We will use the opportunity of the EU budget review, starting later in the year, to argue for the long-term reform that is needed.”

BRITAIN WILL PROSPER AND YOU WILL ALL HAVE HIGH PAYING JOBS

31.03.09, 11:40pm

Relax it will all happen tomorrow.I know this from experience.Britain has been promising good times tomorrow since I was a teenager.
Have faith the good times will soon be here tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
I moved to Australia where they have good times today. As soon as Britain reaches the promised land i will return......tomorrow.
'Musn" grumble stil the finest country in the world.

• Posted by: Mikex • Report Comment

A MERE DROP IN THE BOUQU-ET

31.03.09, 3:55am

Ahh the true legacy of Anthony (Aloysius) Blair. It just keeps on taking!

• Posted by: Adanac • Report Comment

THAT WILL TEACH YOU ALL FOR WNTING TO JOIN IT......

31.03.09, 12:02am

Let alone our corrupt government getting away with blur murder we are allowing other nations to take over our land and monarchy...and at whose expense but your own and you family and children for generations to come........

• Posted by: RealIstic08 • Report Comment

HOW THE EU PUTS 20% ON OUR FOOD BILLS

30.03.09, 11:56pm

Well both BLiar and Incompetence Brown knew all about this when they signed away Britains sovereignty.

However they also knew that it didnt affect them with their "Snouts in the trough" cos they and all MP's are laughing all the way to the bank.

Euro Mp's even more so !!!

In suimple terms Quasi Legalised Theft.

• Posted by: EmperorMing • Report Comment

IT'S ALL OVER GET USED TO IT.

30.03.09, 9:15pm

Does it ever occur to the posters here that it is simply too late. The UK is now in the EU and it isn't going to leave.
The extremist parties such as the BNP will not win an election-and neither should they because they don't have any policies beyond rhetoric.
The real choice is Labour or Conservative and they change places every few elections.
Neither party has any plans to leave the EU.
Neither party will ever run a referendum
on EU membership because a large part of the public are fed up with it.
The governemnt in the UK will only run a referendum if they are sure it will provide the answer they want. This is not the situation today.
The country has lost control of its borders.It doesn't know how many illegals are here and it isn't doing anything meaningful to rectify the situation.
Further the EU allows free movement of its citizens and the UK is now full of people from other member countries who are legally residing here.
The welfare system is groaning under the strain of dealing with all these people many of whom choose not to work.
Locally born people are unemployed because of the influx coupled with many operations being moved offshore.
I doubt that the English expected that joining Europe combined with world events would lead to the present mess.
The Government of the day are from news reports only concerned with enjoying the fruits
of office and are doing little if anything to deal with the problems being faced by their own citizens.
The Citizens of the UK apart from a few extremists are not going to exert any pressure on the Government. The next election may mean a change to the Conservatives and then back to business as usual.
Britain has taken on a new condition that means it is no longer a country in anything but name.
The rules are made in Brussels and the UK is burdened with large payments and the breakdown of what it once stood for.
You may think this is a bad deal and looking at the condition of the UK.The homeless the foreclosed mortgages and so on it is.
You will not be asked if you like the status quo
you must learn to live with it.
The French had their revolution the UK will never see that kind of unrest and so things will continue along the path dictated by Europe and the Government of the day will support the system.
Time in the military taught me that the UK always provides inferior conditions.If you wanted a good deal it was provided by the US. More money, better cars, better uniforms, better equipment and so on. Nothing has changed and nothing ever will. England has always promised jam tommorrow and you will get some. Have faith it's on the way.