JAMES KIRKUP

From John Kelly

The point needs to be made that our trade with the countries of Eastern Europe is dwarfed by Germany's trade with the new accession countries.  So who exactly is going to get the benefit of economic expansion there, that we are having to pay for? 

Here are the figures:

UK exports  2004:                            German  exports 2004:

Poland        £ 1409  million                Poland        Euros  18776
                                                                million (£ 12711 m)
Hungary      £ 971  million                  Hungary      Euros  12815
                                                                million (£ 8675  m)
Czech Rep  £ 930  million                  Czech  Rep  Euros 17765                                                                     million (£12020 m)

Total     £ 3,310  million                        Total  £ 33,406 million

sources: _www.uktradeinfo.com_http://www.uktradeinfo.com/  & www.destatis.de http://www.destatis.de/

M&S ruling highlights EU land grab on tax policy

By : Allister Heath December 18, 2005

SLOWLY but  surely, the European Union (EU) is tightening its grip on tax policy. Under  the guise of protecting the single market, European judges are enforcing tax  harmonisation through the back door, as demonstrated yet again in a key ruling last week.

Ghost of Napoleon haunts Tony Blair - Los Angeles Times

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EU 'Cherry Picking' from Rules the Voters Rejected

by Patrick Hennessy

Less than five months ago, voters in France gave the thumbs down to the European Union's proposed new constitution when 55 per cent rejected it in a referendum.

A few days later, voters in the Netherlands dismissed it Read More

Subject: Goodbye Pint! - Yorkshire post Fri 16th Dec/05

Goodbye to the pint as Europe leaves a bitter taste in my mouth
From: DH Rhodes, Keble Park North, Bishopthorpe.15

The new licensing laws enable us to be part of a European culture, states the Government, and it doesn't stop there. We have only four years to raise our pint glass for our British heritage. After December 31, 2009 it will become illegal to sell anything by pint measure, this being under the EC Directive 99/103 Article 3 (2). This states that the voluntary display of information in customary units will no longer be permitted. Thus all reference to pints, gallons, pounds, ounces and even the chain length of a cricket pitch will be outlawed.

Back to the pint. We can always demand 568ml of best bitter and retain the status quo albeit under a different guise. It is more likely that 0.88 of a pint (half-a-litre) will be enforced. With the current alleged binge drinkers, will the litre (1.76 pints) glass become the standard norm? Think of the cost – new glasses, dispensing units, etc.
These costs will all be passed on to the customer.

Do we want to lose our traditions of several hundred years at the whim of the European Union? Is this a step too far? Maybe if we all wrote to our MPs, the strength of feeling could then be gauged.

In the meantime, I raise my pint to other traditionalists and to those who respect our heritage – cheers.

EU cannot take credit for peace in Europe

From: Thomas Jefferson, Station Road, Hensall, Goole.

James Bovington (Letters, December 8) is still wearing his rose-tinted spectacles, even though his previous views on Europe were rebutted by at least six of your correspondents.
Even if the EU did not exist, it is highly unlikely that there would have been any outbreak of war in Europe, for the simple reason that mature democracies do not declare war upon one another.
It should, however, give us pause for thought that, where turbulence has been witnessed on the continent in recent decades, it has been brought about by the decline and fall of super-states (such as the Soviet Union).
As for the benefits which James Bovington considers we could have enjoyed had our interest rates been at the lower European levels, he is a little short sighted.
The property boom in this country was, in large measure, due to the one-off reduction of interest rates, which meant that people could afford higher mortgages, which in turn inflated house prices.
If interest rates had been reduced to European levels, then house prices would have gone even higher.
The savings on interest would merely have been required to repay the additional borrowings.
In addition, because of the inflationary impact of lower rates, taxes would have had to increase because interest rates could not have been increased.
Therefore disposable incomes would have been lower and Mr Bovington's savings would have been scotch mist. Furthermore, our unemployment would have converged towards Europe's and doubled in the process.
By all means, let us co-operate with our neighbours, but we do not need to knock down the party wall between our houses and share a bank account with them to ensure a peaceful and prosperous future. Indeed, those very measures could precipitate the conflict we seek to avoid.