The EU is this what you want

Cost of "annual" UK membership to the EU:
Whilst the EU may be of benefit to Ireland, Spain. Im not sure the same could be said for the UK, other than to provide a hide away for failed UK MP,s.

£28 billion for business to comply with EU regulations,
£17 billion of additional food costs resulting from the Common Agricultural Policy
£3.3 billion - the value of the catch lost when the Common Fisheries Policy let other countries fish in our territorial waters
£14.6 billion gross paid into the EU budget and other EU funds.

Draft Budget for the European Union £116bn

According to the German magazine Der Speigel, fraud committed in Brussels amounts to 1 million euros per day. There are currently 400 investigative procedures pending against EU officials. The Commission claims that corruption is no more widespread in Brussels than anywhere else, but the budget expert for the German CDU in the European Parliament, Inge Grassle, describes this view as "laughable". The magazine quotes UK MEP Daniel Hannan as saying "If the European Commission were a company, all the commissioners would be in prison". All Commissions since 1999 (when Jaques Santer's team all resigned over corruption) have promised to fight corrupton, and all have failed. The present anti-corruption commissioner, Siim Kallas, was himself embroiled in a major financial scandal in the 1990's (at least he has practical experience). Even the Commission admits that 320 euros have been stolen - nearly 1 million per day

Draft Budget for the European Commission for 2009 of £95bn

The European Parliament recently spent €830,000 replacing filing cabinets to transport documents during the seven hour trek from Brussels to Strasbourg, because the old ones tended to fall over and injure the removal men.

MEP travel expenses £70.83m (average of £98,000 per MEP)
Parliament fleet of vehicles £4.42m (The Parliament provides a chauffeur service to MEPs)
Canteen subsidy £1.88m 15% increase
Parliament WebTV £7.5m
Reserve for implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon £1.67m
Mission & Entertainment expenses £53m
Equipment and furniture for the Commission £67.5m
Expenditure on statistics £65.8
2009 contribution to Pensions for European Union staff £970m

Agriculture & Fisheries: £35.75bn, UK,s contribution $374m.
The UK is paying more than any other Member State in agricultural levies to the Commission

Support for the "Wine Sector" £662million the UK obviously doesnt benefit here.

Fostering European culture & diversity £177.5m
Information and training measures for workers (Trade Unions) £13.7m
Jean Monnet programme, to "support institutions active in the field of European integration" - £779m
College of Europe and "European integration in universities" £22.5m
Support for "non-national European films" £81.25m

The Spin Budget:
Communication - £171.6m
Information centres £10.25m
Direct Communications (targeting regional press) £6.83m
Public opinion analysis £4.8m
Online information £8.83m

Co-operation with Iran, Iraq & Yemen £51.6m
Buildings for EU delegations £60.3m
Promoting democracy around the world £91.7m (this comes despite having no democratic referendums, other than the one we all know)
Co-operation with Latin American countries £294m
Relations with ACP countries £1.08bn
European Union Special Representatives £15.9m
EU Police Missions £49.1m (the majority goes to private military companies. e.g Armor Group)
Enlargement £910m
Membership cost
The Bruges Group
Corruption
How the vote would go in the UK

Is it worth membership?

Unlike our EU counterparts who are only too happy to roll over to fascists and fascism, we the British people believe in democracy and freedom. Always have done and always will. If these fascists want a third lesson in respect, lets give them one. I'll be only too happy to oblige them.

Oh I want to see that... I would in fact pay to see that. You must not have an idea what happened from september 1940 to may 1941...

I know exactly what happened and I apologise for being over the top in what I said. The UK was the only country in Europe not to have fallen to fascism and Hitler may have failed to conquer the UK during WW2, but unlike Hitler, todays politicians using politics have more or less succeeded in destroying British democracy.





[edit on 21-12-2008 by kindred]

Originally posted by kindred
The UK was the only country in Europe not to have fallen to fascism

Learn your history, ever hear of Ireland?
not a one line post.


Mikey

Originally posted by Mikey84

Originally posted by kindred
The UK was the only country in Europe not to have fallen to fascism

Learn your history, ever hear of Ireland?
not a one line post.


Mikey

Maybe not Facists, but capitulators?

Eamonn de Valera: 1 of very few who offered condolences on the death of Hitler.

Andrija Artukovic: Responsible for over 1,000,000 deaths of men, women and children. Given safe haven in Ireland after war?

Celestine Laine: Head of a Waffen SS unit, given safe haven.

Pieter Menten: Responsible for the deaths of Jews in Poland, given safe haven.

Irelands Rosey History: June 1922 to April 1923 Ballyseedy Cross? A blue print for facism?

14 Points of fascism: The warning signs

Facism

Laurence Britt compared the regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet and identified 14 characteristics common to those fascist regimes. This page is a collection of news articles dating from the start of the Bush presidency divided into topics relating to each of the 14 points of fascism. Further analysis of American Fascism done by the POAC can be read here

So I missed out Ireland......This thread is about the EU treaty, so let's please stick to the topic.

Thanks for the interesting link on fascism Georgehairybush1.

If those 14 points are anything to go by, then the EU government certainly qualifies as being fascist.

[edit on 21-12-2008 by kindred]

Originally posted by kindred
So I missed out Ireland..

....This thread is about the EU treaty, so let's please stick to the topic.

Thanks for the interesting link on fascism Georgehairybush1.

If those 14 points are anything to go by, then the EU government certainly qualifies as being fascist.

[edit on 21-12-2008 by kindred]

And don't forget the Swiss. I'd like to hear any opinions on the Swiss being able to fend off the EU as well. This Texan is considering Switzerland as the last bastion of well armed true democracy left. What do you think? Can the Confoederatio Helvetica remain independent and free?

reply to post by resistor


Nope, they recently signed up to the schengen agreement ( or something to that effect) which means they are now a part of the passport free travel area of the eu, they already have in place all of europes laws and adhere to them, if they wanted they could join tomorrow and be fully functioning members within a week.