The Role of the European Union

At any of our events, a large topic rears it’s head when discussion gets flowing. Europe is the largest part of our daily lives that fails to be widely discussed, apart from during Conservative Future meetings. Over recent years the debate has inexorably changed from “What is the UK’s role in the EU?” to “Should the UK be a part of the EU?” Pro-European members are increasingly difficult to find and a large part of Bath CF believe that we would be much better off out. The Eurosceptic role is becoming harder for me to follow as the other countries in Europe plunger towards ever-closer union. I find myself wondering what the role of the EU actually is.

Originally the idea of a united Europe was created by Winston Churchill post-WWII in order for European countries to put aside their differences as the only way to fight the spectre of communism. Interestingly, Churchill did not envisage a role for the UK within this union. We did not need to take part in political machinations whilst we provided the tripwire defence. Since then the EU has slowly spiralled towards political integration. We give money and power to the EU and what do we get in return?

The largest part of EU spending goes towards the reviled Common Agricultural Policy. It is perceived that this subsidises farmers to give the result of cheap food, which is good for everyone. However, the CAP gives money to landowners, not farmers. Our Queen takes a tidy sum from the EU each year as part of this, does this really make farmers richer? Of course not. Another problem with the CAP is the interference from Brussels. Cheap food is wanted, but not too cheap, we can’t have that. A great example from the 1980s was the ability to be paid for not producing wine. There was too much production and so prices would have to drop, which was great news for consumers, but bad news for the French, wishing to preserve their way of life. Instead of consumers having a great variety of cheap wine to chose from, the EU meddled to reduce demand and prop up the crooked system. Today they are still at it, with proposals to rip up new vineyards. This enterprise has been blossoming in the UK (an excellent effect of global warming) and threatening the business of our European neighbours.

The other part of EU spending goes towards developing the poorer nations in Europe. The main benefactor from the EU in this regard has been Spain. This is the point of the EU I find the most difficult to comprehend; why do we give £8bn each year to our closest competitors on the world market? Surely this has cost us massively over the past decades, alongside successive incompetence on the part of our governments.

More sinister has been the gradual erosion of legislative power towards Brussels and Strasbourg. We elect MPs to represent us, only to have their decisions overturned by people we didn’t elect. The main thrust of European legislation is to standardise across Europe. I’ve simply got to ask; why? I can only see it as being a series of gradual steps towards the formation of a single superstate. The simple fact that we are different is worth preserving. We would be in dire straights indeed if everywhere in Europe were clones of each other. Why are more and more countries joining the EU, at immense cost? Simply because they want a slice of the monetary pie whilst it’s still hot.