Daily Express - NEW EU GUARDS TO POLICE OUR BORDERS

Gerard Batten MEP for Ukip

Monday May 30,2011

By Anil Dawar

 Have your say(19)

A EUROPEAN quango could take control of British border guards under alarming new plans to create an EU-wide immigration agency.

Proposals passed by the European Parliament’s home affairs committee call for member states to staff an EU Border Guard System.

If MEPs get their way, the new agency will get a multi-million pound budget and be able to deploy officers without consulting governments who supply them.

Critics say plans to reorganise the existing Frontex border agency are a first step towards creating a continental immigration system.

The scheme is contained in a review of the Warsaw-based EU border agency, conducted by Maltese MEP Dr Simon Busuttil.

It says the various operations carried out by Frontex should be merged into one EU Border Guard system and recommends an increase in its already bloated budget so it can buy its own planes, boats and other equipment. The review also says all EU member states – including Britain – should be ordered to contribute officers to a pool of border guards.

It is obvious the EU is using the refugee crisis to further its ambition to create an operational military force

Gerard Batten, Ukip MEP

It also insists members sign a “solidarity clause”, which would force Britain to take a share of all refugees arriving in the EU, whichever country they land in.

While Britain is not signed up to Frontex, the proposals say all member states should be compelled to take part in the new system.

The European Commission is still trying to force Britain to join Frontex. The report calls for analysis of “the need for the further development of the EU Border Guard system and for the agency to employ independent guards acting under its instructions”.

Frontex does not have its own officers or equipment and relies on borrowing them from member states when it embarks on missions such as patrolling the Mediterranean or the Greece-Turkey border.

Under Dr Busuttil’s plans, the agency would be able to launch initiatives, meaning it could use UK Border Agency officers anywhere in the EU or set up operations at British frontier points.

The proposals come as the EU battles a flood of tens of thousands of North Africans fleeing the chaos of the “Arab Spring” uprisings.

Gerard Batten, Ukip MEP and immigration spokesman, said: “It is obvious the EU is using the refugee crisis to further its ambition to create an operational military force.

“There is no doubt that the EU will use this as a way of trying to force Britain to take in asylum seekers arriving elsewhere in Europe.

“Even if we manage to avoid being pulled into another costly system of European control we will be forced to pay for it through our EU contributions.”

Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, said: “As if the EU wasn’t undemocratic enough, it is creating this enormous quango while we are trying to cut them at home.

“The only way for the UK to safeguard its frontiers is to back away from the existing systems the EU has set up.”

When Frontex was first set up in 2005, it had a budget of just £5.3million. That has risen to £95.5million and next year it will top £124million.

The UK Border Agency said: “The UK is not a participant in the Frontex Regulation, so this proposal does not apply to the UK.”

What's next an EU police force on the streets of Briton?

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/249667/New-EU-guards-to-police-our-bordersNew-EU-guards-to-police-our-borders#ixzz1Np7eObwc

Daily Express - ‘INCOMPETENT’ ASHTON UNDER FIRE

Baroness Ashton faced scathing accusations of incompetence yesterday in a Brussels showdown

Tuesday May 24,2011

By Macer Hall Political Editor

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EURO politician Baroness Ashton faced scathing accusations of incompetence yesterday in a Brussels showdown.

The former Labour minister came in for criticism during an assessment of her first 18 months as the European Union’s foreign affairs chief.

Even top diplomats keen on the European External Action Service – the EU’s diplomatic corps – questioned whether she was up to the job of leading it.

One said: “We have seen an accumulation of frustrations and stupid mistakes. She has surrounded herself with yes-men and adopted a bunker mentality rather than deal with problems.”

Tory MEP Syed Kamall added: “Baroness Ashton has come in for criticism from right across Europe. It seems to be one of the few things European politicians can agree on. My concern is that her performance reflects badly on Britain and damages our standing in Europe.”

The row, which flared at a meeting between Baroness Ashton and EU foreign ministers yesterday, followed widespread anger at her demand last month for a 5.8 per cent increase in her £405million a year budget.

Baroness Ashton has come in for criticism from right across Europe

Tory MEP Syed Kamall

A spokesman for Baroness Ashton last night insisted the meeting was “routine” and added: “There were many issues discussed. The main focus was on Libya.”

Baroness Ashton's obscene £230,000 a year salary makes her the best paid female politician in the world, you'd think for that money the EU would be getting the best politician in the world. If ever there's a case for performance related pay I'd say this is it.  

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/248467/-Incompetent-Ashton-under-fire-Incompetent-Ashton-under-fire#ixzz1NIDEJbF7

Daily Express - EU QUANGOS REGULATE UK BANKS

Hector Sants said EU quangos now control the UK’s banks and its financial system

Monday May 23,2011

By Daily Express Reporter

 Have your say(8)

THE full extent of the EU’s grip on Britain’s financial system has been laid bare after the UK’s financial watchdog admitted it was simply Europe’s “supervisor”.

Hector Sants, head of the Financial Services Authority, made his admission as he announced a major shake-up of Britain’s regulatory regime.

At a press conference to announce the creation of the Prudential Regulatory Authority, Mr Sants said EU quangos now control the UK’s banks and its financial system. He said: “The PRA will essentially be a supervisory arm of the European regulatory regime.”

Mr Sants’ revelation that Brussels was prising loose Britain’s grip on its own banking system was underlined by Olli Rehn, EU commissioner for economic affairs.

Mr Rehn told business leaders three super-quangos had taken over the regulatory role of the continent’s 27 national banks, including the Bank of England. They are the European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority.

Tory MP Douglas Carswell criticised the move. “Given the financial mess in the eurozone, the last thing we should be doing is handing control of the City of London to the EU.

The unelected bodies have the power to impose rules on the UK’s banks and financial institutions. Mr Rehn said it meant the European Commission can bypass dissenting member states. He admitted: “The veto’s been weakened.”

Just how does this happen? And more importantly where was the resistance from our MPs? Another act of EU subversion leaves us with the Bank of England effectively out of our control.

How healthy is it for a democracy such as the UK to be governed by unelected foreign bodies? Our political structure is steadily becoming  non-functional, so what's the point of electing the same old MPs if all they do is follow the EU agenda at the cost of the British peoples sovereignty? 


  

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/248261/EU-quangos-regulate-UK-banksEU-quangos-regulate-UK-banks#ixzz1N9tJtA8N

Daily Express - CARBON PLEDGE WILL DOUBLE ENERGY BILLS

BELEAGUERED Energy Secretary Chris Huhne yesterday committed Britain to “exceptionally ambitious” cuts in carbon emissions despite warnings that they could help double domestic energy bills in a decade.

Mr Huhne, who is fighting for his political life over allegations about speeding points, said that by 2025 Britain will have halved its greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels.

That is a significant expansion of the previous pledge to cut emissions by 34 per cent by 2020.

He also announced plans to develop giant offshore wind turbines, which would be nearly as tall as Big Ben.

Mr Huhne overcame Cabinet resistance to push through the plan and make Britain the first country in the world to make legally binding commitments to slash emissions in the 2020s.

But critics warned that the consumer will have to foot the bill. Mark Todd, director of price comparison service Energyhelpline.com, said the drive would cost households around £10.8billion a year extra by 2020, taking the average bill from £1,150 to £1,600.

It puts Britain at the leading edge of a new global industrial transformation as well as making good our determination that this will be the greenest government ever

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne

He warned: “Fuel scarcity, political turmoil and natural disasters will drive this figure even higher and it would not be beyond the bounds of possibility to see bills almost double to £2,000 by 2020. Once again the ordinary consumer is ending up footing the bill.”

Price comparison site uSwitch.com also warned that annual energy bills could hit £1,600 within nine years.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy, said: “By 2020 the average bill will have rocketed by nearly £500. This doesn’t even take into account any price rises.

“Today’s announcement could be the death knell for cheap energy.”

Others feared big business would be driven abroad. The Civitas think-tank said the plans would create the “highest energy costs in the world” and send turnover worth £60billion and 600,000 jobs “up in smoke”.

UKIP’s environment spokesman Lord Monckton said the move would not make any difference to the climate. He described it as “the largest tax increase in human history” driven “by blind, superstitious faith”.

Even supporters warned the scheme was ambitious.

David Symons, of environmental consultants WSP Environment & Energy, said the move meant that by 2030 the UK would have to generate 97 per cent of electricity from low carbon sources, insulate 3.5 million homes and have 60 per cent of new cars run on electricity.

Dr Tim Fox, head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “These proposals are welcome but exceptionally ambitious and are unlikely to be achieved without policy support.

“The scale of  the engineering deployment required to reduce emissions on this scale has never been seen in any industrialised nation.”

The Prime Minister said: “This is the right approach for Britain if we are to combat climate change, secure our energy supplies for the long-term and seize the economic opportunities that green industries hold.”

Mr Huhne said: “It puts Britain at the leading edge of a new global industrial transformation as well as making good our determination that this will be the greenest government ever.”

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/247373/Carbon-pledge-will-double-energy-billsCarbon-pledge-will-double-energy-bills#ixzz1Mk399Sfb

BANKERS GET LOAN FROM EU

The loan comes from the European Investment Bank set up to aid development in the EU

Wednesday May 18,2011

By Daily Express Reporter

 Have your say(10)

FURY erupted yesterday as it emerged that British taxpayers are helping refurbish a luxury tourist resort owned by wealthy foreign bankers.

The Treasury is underwriting an £11million loan to revamp a four-star, beach-front complex in Morocco. The loan comes from the European Investment Bank, set up to aid development in the EU and emerging nations.

But the British share of the risk means that if the loan is unpaid, taxpayers would have to fork out 16p in every pound.

However, if the project succeeds, the repayments go to the EIB while the owners rake in the profits.

The disclosure sparked anger yesterday.

John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Businesses at home can’t get finance they need to grow. Hard-working families are already helping to bail out basket case economies in Ireland and Portugal.”

UKIP’s Marta Andreasen, said: “It is scandalous that our taxpayers who are struggling to survive and make their mortgage payments in this economic crisis are subsidising playgrounds for the rich and well paid.”

It is scandalous that our taxpayers who are struggling to survive and make their mortgage payments in this economic crisis are subsidising playgrounds for the rich and well paid

UKIP’s Marta Andreasen

The Yasmina village, near Tetouan, is part of a French chain owned by CDG Capital which has assets of over £20billion.

If only we had a democratic say in all this, all we can do is watch ourselves get taxed more & more. My question is, why are we giving a loan to a corporation which has assets of over £20bn? Let us again face the fact that a high percentage of taxpayers wouldn't even be able to afford a stay at this four star hotel so why on Earth should they be expexted to foot the bill.

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/247367/Bankers-get-loan-from-EUBankers-get-loan-from-EU#ixzz1MhBkxhzW

Daily Express - NOW OUR BILL FOR EU BAILOUT HITS £12.5BN

BRITAIN’S liability for shoring up the collapsing euro soared to a colossal £12.5billion last night following a European Union rescue deal for Portugal.

Chancellor George Osborne yesterday agreed with other European finance ministers that the UK will pour £4.3billion into a £68billion international bailout package for the debt-laden Portuguese economy.

On top of cash already pledged to Ireland and Greece, the move raises Britain’s financial involvement in supporting the crisis-hit eurozone to £500 for every household in the country.

And fears were growing that the total liability figure could rocket to more than £15billion if Britain is forced to contribute to an expected second international bailout for the Greeks.

Last night critics savaged the Treasury’s decision to join another lavish EU rescue at a time of swingeing austerity measures in the UK.

Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: “This is a disastrous deal for Britain.

This is a disastrous deal for Britain

Tory MP Douglas Carswell

“At a time of public-spending cuts at home, millions of hard-working families around the country will be wondering how we got into this mess.

“It is extraordinary in the week when it becomes apparent that lenders will not get the money back from the Greek bailout that we should be going ahead with throwing billions into a Portuguese bailout.”

Euro-MP Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, said: “Osborne must decide who he wishes to please, either the UK taxpayer or his fellow EU finance ministers? Who is he working for – us or them?”

Charlotte Linacre, campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “This news is disastrous. The Government is failing UK taxpayers by not resisting further EU bailouts.

“It’s utterly wrong that while we look for necessary spending cuts in the UK, any savings made are being squandered propping up a failing eurozone.”

Finance ministers from the 27 EU nations agreed the £68billion bailout for Portugal at a meeting in Brussels that went ahead in spite of the arrest of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York on sex attack allegations.

The decision to help Portugal follows fears about a crippling sovereign debt crisis which threatens to bankrupt the Lisbon government.

Mr Osborne agreed that Britain will contribute £4.3billion but Treasury officials insisted the Chancellor was a “reluctant participant”, forced into joining the rescue because of a deal agreed by his Labour predecessor Alistair Darling last year.

They pointed out that the cash was a loan and not a handout, and claim that stringent conditions attached to the bailout would prevent the Portuguese government from defaulting on the credit.

But the contribution comes on top of £1.2billion that Britain plunged into an IMF aid package for Greece last year and a further £7billion in emergency loans to Ireland.

It means the total British liability for euro bailouts so far has reached £12.5billion.

Worryingly, the figure is around half the cash saved by the Government this year through austerity spending cuts.

Some experts warn that the British Government may be forced to contribute a further £2.6billion to increasing the EU and IMF support for Greece, increasing the UK’s liability to £15.1billion.

That figure is equivalent to £604 for every household in the country, adding further weight to the Daily Express crusade to get Britain out of the EU.

Treasury sources were last night insisting that Britain will not be expected to join in a further EU financial package for Greece.

A spokesman said: “We were not part of the original European bailout for Greece and there is no proposal to bring us into the next one.”

Officials also pointed out that yesterday’s Brussels meeting agreed a legal text that means Britain will not play a part in any eurozone bailouts after 2013.

Euro-MP Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, said: “Osborne must decide who he wishes to please, either the UK taxpayer or his fellow EU finance ministers? Who is he working for – us or them?” 

I think that says it all don't you?

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/247165/Now-our-bill-for-EU-bailout-hits-12-5bnNow-our-bill-for-EU-bailout-hits-12-5bn#ixzz1MdQhkIXR