Showing posts with label Subsidy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Subsidy. Show all posts

Monday, 1 March 2021

Leaving the EU without a trade deal is better than staying within the bloc

 Oh woe, woe and thrice woe! Like the soothsayer in Up Pompeii!,prophets of doom in their grim platoons are busily forecasting the worst of all possible worlds as we stumble towards an inglorious end to the European dream.

 The Independent

 

Without a Brexit deal and the benevolent umbrella of Brussels we’d be left entirely unprotected in the coming storm, they tell us. Our already shambolic ports will collapse further into chaos. 

Kent will become the world’s busiest lorry park as mile upon mile of freight vehicles grind into gridlock. The pound will plummet. Food prices will rise. Unemployment will soar. Outside the EU we’ll be poorer and more miserable. Can a plague of frogs be long delayed?

Bear with me a moment. I don’t mean to make light of the difficulties that will inevitably confront us in the event of no deal.  I would have been the first to cheer if any kind of rational, sensible arrangement could have been reached with our European neighbours.  

However, as we’ve seen again and again, rationality and common sense are of little account in an  EU that seems more interested in  punishing Britain than in reaching a decent accommodation.

Take the quite bizarre decision – taken at the beginning of negotiations – to cut Britain out of elements in the Galileo project, which aims to launch a network of European satellites. Despite the fact that this country developed and paid for much of the technology,  our “partners” suddenly decided that we shouldn’t have access to some “need to know” information.

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EU president says 'mistakes were made' over Article 16 decision

So what, you might think. Sounds a bit technical, no? But consider this. Britain is one of the most capable military powers in Europe. Our ability to respond to any external threat is of huge importance, not only to us but to our neighbours. It helps to preserve the peace. So does our access to satellite encryption. Yet power brokers in Brussels are quite prepared to undermine the security of the people they supposedly represent, in order to give Britain a black eye.

And of course it doesn’t stop there. EU negotiators pretend to believe that, once outside the EU, Britain will slash environmental standards, subsidise industry to the hilt and do our best to undermine the responsible. eco-friendly Europeans.

The hypocrisy over the so-called level playing field is quite breathtaking. Britain is arguably – but certainly I believe – miles ahead of Europe in protecting the environment and maintaining decent social standards. We have a higher minimum wage than most of our EU partners. Maternity leave is better here. We have cut our carbon emissions by far more that the EU average. We don’t spend anything like as much as France in subsidising industries.

And animal welfare? For years this country has led the way in trying to ban the cruel export of live animals. When the port of Ramsgate and Thanet Council tried to stop this appalling trade in 2014, the High Court ruled that a ban was illegal under European law. MEPs finally set up an inquiry commission earlier this year to look at allegations of systematic undermining of EU live animal trade rules.

While the EU lectures us on the evils of subsidies, it blithely proposes to spend €750bn (£690bn) to stimulate the economy after the coronavirus pandemic. Apparently this won’t be covered by the subsidy rules that apply to Britain. Not only that, but spending by the European Investment Bank won’t count as subsidies either. So it's seemingly one rule for Brussels, quite another  for us.

But then, has this ever been a genuine negotiation? Today the EU seriously proposes that Britain should not only adhere to every dot and comma of European law, but be bound by any new laws it cares to pass in future.

What we are witnessing is nothing less than an attempt to reduce Britain to the status of a mere province in a wider European empire. It is a status that no self-respecting country could possibly accept.

So yes, there may be trouble ahead. But we have survived far worse. And after all, we were a free, sovereign and independent nation for a thousand years before we joined the EU. We didn’t do too badly then, did we?

Michael Toner is a journalist and former national newspaper political editor

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/leaving-the-eu-without-a-trade-deal-is-better-than-staying-within-the-bloc/

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Saturday, 29 February 2020

EU humiliated: As Barnier lectures UK on state aid EC admits Italy £350M Alitalia bung

A HUMILIATING European Commission probe has been launched into how the Italian government was allowed to bung a £350 MILLION bail out to ailing airline Alitalia - just hours after Michel Barnier lectured Britain that Brussels absolutely never allowed state aid.

By CIARAN MCGRATH
The EU's lead Brexit trade negotiator Mr Barnier banged his fists on the lectern in a speech just two days ago as he demanded Boris Johnson respect the EU's so-called level playing field, and the iron-clad rules on state aid. But today it emerged Brussels had effectively turned a blind eye for a year to the Italian government's decision to pump almost £350million (€400million) into Alitalia to prop up the ailing airline in defiance of EU anti-competition rules. Only today, after Mr Barnier's speech, was the investigation announced.
Alitalia
Alitalia planes on the runway (Image: GETTY)
And Brexiteer MP  highlighted the issue as a classic example of the bloc’s apparent double-standards, which proved the UK was right to quit the bloc. A statement issued by the  confirmed the “in-depth” investigation had been launched, while stressed it was a “standard step” which did not “prejudge” the outcome. Regulators will consider whether the loan constituted state aid or whether it complied with  rules on helping companies in difficulty.
Italy provided the money last year in order to assist the company to streamline its operations prior to a possible sale.
A Commission statement said: “The Commission’s role under the EU Treaty is to help ensure a level playing field in the EU’s Single Market to the benefit of European consumers and businesses.”
The investigation had been triggered as a result of a number of complaints, the statement added.
Under EU State aid rules, public interventions to help companies can be considered free of State aid if they are made on terms which a private operator would have accepted under market conditions.
AlItalia
Daniel Kawczyski MP said the Alitalia situation was an example of the EU (Image: GETTY)
If not, they are regarded as “conferring an economic advantage on the beneficiary that its competitors do not have”, and as such, breach Article 107 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The UK Government was prevented from helping British Steel last year as a result.
Mr Kawczynski told Express.co.uk: “Their accusation is always that we want to cherrypick - you hear these words a lot.
“But they are very good at cherry picking and applying rules when it suits them.
The trouble is we in this country have always played by the rules because it’s the British way
Daniel Kawczynski


“The trouble is we in this country have always played by the rules because it’s the British way.
“Our European partners have not always done so, which has put us at a disadvantage.
“This only serves the emphasise that the decision we have taken in leaving the European Union is the right one.
“Boris must not bow here and I think he is in a very strong position, both in Parliament and the country as a whole.
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson must not bow to Brussels, said Mr Kawczynski (Image: GETTY)
Steve Baker MP
Steve Baker MP talked about State Aid earlier this month (Image: GETTY)
“The British people want us to stand firm here.”
Mr Kawczynksi added: “What I find astounding is that some industries, such as British Steel, would benefit from Government support but currently we are not allowed to give it.
“Some industries are strategically important and in going forward, we will be able to offer this help.
Ursula von der Leyen

It will no longer be predicated on unelected officials sitting in some office in Brussels.
“Power now rests with Westminster and the British people - and that is how it should be.”
The Commission is also investigating a €900 million bridge loan, with the separate probe ongoing.

Steve Baker MP, former chairman of the European Research Group, speaking about State Aid last month, told Express.co.uk: “The point is, there is a place for controlled state aid.
“If you believe in a market economy, then it is very important that we don’t distort the way that that economy functions.
“And that has really important implications for trade policy – for example, one of the reasons why steel production in the UK and the USA is in trouble, is because there is vast steel production in China, and it’s heavily subsidised.”



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https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1248900/italy-alitalia-load-state-aid-brussels-european-commission-anti-competition-brexit

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Tuesday, 25 February 2020

Trump threatens EU and France with 100,000 job losses

DONALD Trump's trade war with the European Union has escalated with the US President's latest tariffs threatening 100,000 French jobs.

By RACHEL RUSSELL
France has been hit hard by tariffs on wine from the US
France has been hit hard by tariffs on wine from the US (Image: GETTY)

 French wine exports to the US plunged by 44 percent, with a €40 million drop in sales, during the last quarter of 2019, according to the French Association of Wines and Spirits Exporters. This was due to Mr Trump imposing 25 percent tariffs on imports of French, Spanish and German wines last October. The tariff rise was said to be in retaliation for EU subsidies to European aerospace giant Airbus, which is a rival of America’s Boeing.

Now French viticulture groups are wanting the tariffs on wine exports could put 100,000 jobs at risk, which would be 20 percent of the sector.

 Jean-Marie Barillère, president of the national committee of interprofessions of wines with geographical names and indications (CNIV) said: “The whole economy of the French countryside will face difficulty if viticulture suffers: if nothing is done in response to the American taxes, we risk losing at least 100,000 jobs.
“Distributors will buy their wines elsewhere.
“We are losing market share that it will be very difficult to retrieve.”
The US is the second-biggest export market for French wines.
The French government has called on the EU’s help and compensation.
Deputy Foreign Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said: “France has asked the European Union to provide compensation for [winegrowers’] losses.
“It will be a precious tool to help the wine sector during these complicated times.”
The US is the second-biggest export market for French wines
The US is the second-biggest export market for French wines (Image: GETTY)
French Present Emmanuel Macron has backed tariff relief for wine producers and raised the issue with the European Commission.
He also said compensation would be given later this year to those who has lost profit over the tariffs.
But this was not good enough for wine growers, who called for “immediate and appropriate measures” instead.
Jerome Despey, secretary general in France’s main farmer union, said: “We cannot wait until May or June.”
French wine exports to the US plunged by 44 percent
French wine exports to the US plunged by 44 percent (Image: GETTY)
Bernard Farges, a Bordeaux winemaker and president of industry group CNAOC, blamed the tax hikes on “illegal subsidies” given to Airbus.
He said: “There are two guilty parties: the French state and Airbus.
“It’s the countryside and the viticulture industry that are punished.
“These payments to Airbus have to be stopped.”

The US argued subsidies to Airbus damaged American aircraft giant Boeing.
And the EU’s efforts to comply with prior WTO rulings against the subsidies were not enough to make up for it.
Office of the United States Trade Representative previously told CNBC: “As a result of the EU’s failure to address these subsidies, on October 18, the United States imposed tariffs of 10 percent on large civil aircraft and 25 percent on agricultural and other products.”



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