An exposé of how the EU transfers UK wealth to other countries by stealth
Just one example from the £57bn EU Fund from which the UK receives nothing.
“How you are paying to make the Poles’ daily life more convenient”
This morning millions of British people will be travelling to work on highly-congested, pothole-riven roads or in overcrowded train carriages or buses. It is widely recognised that significant expenditure is needed to upgrade the UK’s transport network to something worthy of the fifth-largest economy in the world.
Some EU countries have been getting this investment for free for years, courtesy of the British taxpayer. Here we give just one small example, from Poland. I chose Poland because it is by far the largest recipient of money from the EU’s €63 billion (£57 billion) ‘Cohesion Fund’.
Case study 2018–2022, Łódź, Poland — €0.6bn “to get across town faster”
Łódź has a population of just 685,000, making it smaller than Nottingham
The EU is spending UK money building an underground system there
In August last year, the EU Commission approved €0.41 billion euros (£0.37 billion pounds) of expenditure for some railway improvements in the city of Łódź, Poland. This comes on top of €0.24 billion euros already spent, bringing the total to €0.65 billion euros (nearly £0.6 billion pounds).
Here is the EU’s statement
“Łódź has two main stations: Łódź Fabryczna and Łódź Kaliska, which are currently not connected to each other. This is a major obstacle to the region’s transport development and an everyday inconvenience for those living in the city.”
“In Łódź, the Cohesion Fund is financing the construction of an underground line between the two stations, and to Łódź Żabieniec station in the west of the city. The project also includes the construction of two stations, Łódź Zielona and Łódź Ogrodowa.”
EU Regional & Urban Development Directorate, 28 Aug 2018
In summary, the EU is financing a new underground system for Poland’s third city, Łódź.
What the EU Commissioner said
Here is what the responsible EU Commissioner says about the EU’s funding for the Lodz railway connection.
“Soon, those living in the city will be able to get across town faster and will benefit from better interregional connections, with an effective and environmentally friendly transport system.”
EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Ms Corina Crețu from Bulgaria, 28 Aug 2018.
The EU’s ‘Cohesion Fund’ should be renamed. In effect it is an ‘EU Wealth Transfer Fund’ — and a significant part of the wealth being transferred comes from the UK.
I referred to transferring wealth by stealth. I AM not for one moment suggesting that this fund is any way hidden by the EU. I AM, however, suggesting that the British people are simply unaware of what is really going on.
The news is full of Boris announcing all manner of new initiatives, including the financing of a new Leeds-Manchester train route. The money for this will have to be borrowed, of course.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, unelected bureaucrats have spent years allocating vast sums of UK taxpayer money to 15 member states which benefit from the ‘Cohesion Fund’ — and thereby financing the construction of modern rail and road links.
Crucially, the EU is expecting the UK to pay £39 billion on exit. (And I expect this figure to soar if it were ever agreed to.) Part of this money will be used by the EU to continue funding Poland’s transport improvements for many years after the UK has left the EU.
We must not blame the Polish people for this state of affairs. Their government has quite understandably sought to extract as much money from the EU Commission as possible. The heart of this lies in the EU’s surreptitious expansionism into a becoming a superstate.
In order to achieve this they have devised clever ways of transferring wealth from richer member states such as the UK to poorer member states such as Poland, and badging this as “EU money”. No wonder there isn’t a majority in Poland for leaving the EU.
It is by manipulation of facts that the EU is able to present itself as a force for good. Imagine if the new underground system in the Polish city of Łódź had plaques saying:
“Built with the kind financial support of the people of the United Kingdom”?
I thought you might like to see what you have paid for so here it is in all its glory
nice to see what your taxes pay for isn't it. Angry you should be because your Remain MP should know about this and to be fair so should any Leave MP but ask them and they will look at you as if you come from Mars.
[ Sources: EU Commission | EU Regional & Urban Development Directorate ]
