Monday, 17th October 2011
North-South divide hindering EU Growth
Scots Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson has called for a two-speed Europe, with Britain in the fast-lane, to resolve the current economic downturn.
Speaking in Glasgow today, Mr Stevenson said that the only way the UK can hope to compete with the burgeoning economies of the East, like China and India is to slash red tape and bureaucracy from Brussels and go flat out for economic growth.
In his speech to the Glasgow South Conservative Association, Struan Stevenson said:
“I’m getting a little fed up with the responsible north having to fork out for the profligate south. Sarkozy and Merkel are now desperately casting around for solutions. When the Eurozone was created, they introduced the Growth & Stability Pact which limited the deficit that any Member State could run to 2.5% of GDP. Greece this week reached 170% and will soon reach 200%. Greek debt continues to spiral and there is no way that they can afford to pay it off.
“The problem for the Euro elite is that Greece only represents 2% of the entire Eurozone. If they can’t sort out the problems in Greece, there will be little or no confidence in their ability to sort out the problems in the much bigger economies of Italy, Spain, Portugal and even France. This is why the international markets are nervous and are watching closely to see if a solution can be found and found quickly.
“Various schemes have been touted by José Manuel Barosso. Last month he told us that he favoured the introduction of a Tobin Tax. This would effectively be a tax on all financial transactions that take place inside the EU. The trouble is 80% of such transactions take place in London, which is not even part of the Eurozone. So the UK would end up paying 80% of the cost of bailing out the failed economies of the so-called PIGS – Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain”.
Objecting to the European Commission President’s bid for a 6% increase in the EU budget at a time of severe austerity, Mr Stevenson suggested where cuts of up to £1.5 billion could be achieved, such as stopping the travelling circus which forces MEPs and staff to travel from Brussels to Strasbourg 12 times every year. He pointed out that the European Parliament now occupies 62 buildings and while the number of MEPs has remained static at 736 over the past 5 years, parliamentary staff has increased by a staggering 58%, with more than 6,500.
Mr Stevenson concluded saying:
“We need to halt and even reverse the move towards further and greater EU integration. We support the single market and taking down barriers to trade and we support the free movement of goods, services, capital and people – a potent force for good, promoting business growth and jobs. Europe has 23 million unemployed right now....up to 40% youth unemployment in some countries. We risk a lost generation of European workers unless we take decisive action now.”
