As the May 2014 European elections come along, so the scaremongering and wild and inaccurate claims start.
Jobs
The Liberal Democrats and Labour Europhiles are busy trying to scare people that jobs would be lost if the UK moved further away from the EU. Based on the 17-year old study by Ardy, Begg and Hodson stating that 3.5 million jobs depend on Britain’s relationship with the EU, their claims are now not only out-of-date, but irrelevant.
As economist Ruth Lea argued in 2008, the report does not:
Take into account the number of British jobs potentially displaced by imports from the EU
Thus offers no overview of the net jobs created / lost (likely to be negative given that imports are higher than exports)
And as imports to the UK are higher than exports to the EU, then this means far more jobs in the EU depend on trade with Britain than jobs in Britain depend on trade with the EU.
And as no one is talking of leaving the EU without cordial negotiations, and given that the EU confirms its “…attachment to the principles of liberty, democracy…” (Preamble to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in the Consolidated Texts as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon, and see also Article 2 TEU), then the EU is legally obliged to accept the democratic will of the British people – that we don’t share the federalist ambitions of Brussels.
The Treaty speaks for itself
And for those who doubt the direction of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon answers all objections.
The Preamble states that it is “…ending the division of the European continent…”, that the leaders who signed the Treaty “Resolved to establish a citizenship common to nationals of their countries…”, and that they want to “…continue the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe…”
Article 3 of the TEU promotes cultural imperialism, stating that “In its relations with the wider world, the Union shall uphold and promote its values…” Article 10 of the TEU forces on us European political parties that express “the will of citizens of the Union”, even if hardly anyone votes for them.
Article 24 places “…all areas of foreign policy…” into the competence of the European Union, and states that a common defence policy will be progressively framed, leading potentially to a common defence”. Article 24.3 binds Member States to support the Union’s external and security policy.
The European External Action Service is created by Article 27.3, to work in cooperation with the diplomatic services of Member States, needlessly duplicating diplomatic efforts and clearly leading towards the creation of one single EU foreign office. Article 29 requires that “Member States shall ensure that their national policies confirm to the Union’s position”.
Article 32 ends independent foreign policies, demanding that Member States, before taking any independent actions, consult other members of the European Council or Council of Ministers. “Member States shall ensure, through the convergence of their actions, that the Union is able to assert its interests…”
The EU also binds the UK’s seat on the UN Security Council, demanding that the UK and France “in the execution of their functions, defend the positions and the interests of the Union.”
Article 42 then drops the ‘maybe’ relating to a common defence policy. Article 42.2 “The common security and defence policy shall include the progressive framing of a common Union defence policy. This will lead to a common defence…”
The EU adopts NATO’s clothes in Article 42.7, becoming a collective defence organisation, and in Article 45 gives the European Defence Agency powers to intrude into UK national security to gather information on military capability objectives and “…promote harmonisation of operational needs…” (leading to a common EU army).
Trade controlled by Europe
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) goes on to clearly state federalist principles and show the extent to which Europe already controls us.
Article 1 of the TFEU delineates areas of control in a federal way. Article 3 then states clearly that the EU shall exclusively govern legislation relating to:
The customs union
All competition rules for the internal market
All marine conservation
All commercial policy
The EU also has shared / superior policy power over:
Internal market issues
Social policy
Agriculture and fisheries
Environmental issues
Transport
Energy
This is just a selection of areas from the Treaty. Let the facts speak for themselves; the EU controls Britain’s trade power, and thus exercises great influence over our economy and thus over our foreign policy and destiny as well. It’s time to reassert that Britons vote for their leaders who sit in Westminster; Brussels’ control must stop.
