What kind of EU did Remain MPs vote to Remain in?
Are they happy to make you pay an extra £1.2 bn for another “Off-Budget” EU Fund?
One more example of another “off-budget” EU Fund that Remain MPs probably aren’t even aware of, but must justify. These are“off-budget” EU funds, set up to disguise the true costs of EU membership, and to get around the treaties.
£1.2 billion extra for the EU, under EU plans
One small part of the EU Commission’s plans involves the creation of yet another “off-budget” EU Fund. It comes in at a cool €10.5 billion euros. As one of the largest contributors to the EU, this would mean around £1.2 billion extra pounds for the UK taxpayer to find. And this sum will never appear in the Treasury’s official declarations of “the UK’s net contributions to the EU” because it does not form part of the official EU budget.
As with so many EU projects, this new fund has been given an innocuous-sounding name: “The European Peace Facility” (EPF). In reality, this is about building up the EU’s military forces under the EU Defence Union.
Here is what the EU says about this new “Off-Budget” Fund.
“By proposing a new European Peace Facility (EPF) the European Union is taking another step towards cementing its role as a global actor.
“The EPF is a proposal by the High Representative [currently Italian former Communist Federica Mogherini] to set up a new off-budget fund, a fund outside of the Union’s multi-annual budget, worth €10.5 billion.
“It will enable the financing of operational actions under the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) that have military or defense implications. It will draw together existing off-budget mechanisms, namely the Athena mechanism or the African Peace Facility, devoted to security and defense, overcoming their gaps and limitations.”
EPD document from European External Action Service, EU Commission, accessed 04 August 2019.
This EU Fund is not permitted under the Treaties
The reason this EU Fund has to be “off-budget” is because its purposes lie outside those permitted to the EU by the Treaties. To quote the EU itself, this fund
“cannot be financed under the Union’s budget because of its operational military or defense implications”.
This will be a new “off-budget” EU Fund. The Commission proposes that member states start contributing to it in the next financial period which starts on 01 Jan 2021. It is likely to be approved in the coming months.
In case Remain MPs really are concerned about the rule of law and the sanctity of the Treaties, they may wish to ask themselves why this huge new EU fund has to be off the books. And if Remain MPs doubt and wish to look this up, they should try Art. 41.2 TEU.
This is just the tip of the EU iceberg
Importantly this is just one new off-the-books EU fund. Several others already exist. They involve tens of billions of pounds and the British taxpayer has been subsidising them for years. If Remain MPs are unaware of these funds they should be ashamed of themselves
Here we have yet another one. The UK will have to pay into it if it remains a member of the EU and it involves the EU’s aspirations to become a military power. It will cost the British taxpayer an extra £1.2 billion pounds.
Lets us all leave Remain MPs along with all Remainers with one thought.
“No-one voted Remain to become poorer.
[ Sources: EEAS — EU Commission ]
