The EUSSR wishes you all a happy New Year !(And an even more totalitarian 2009...)

The centralisation of power in the European Union continues apace. Last week, the Bruges Group exposed the policies that the EU wants to force on Europe over the coming year. These latest EUSSR power grabs are the challenges that we must face in 2009 and are coming regardless of the fact that the EU Constitution (a.k.a. Reform Treaty, Treaty of Lisbon, Angela Merkel's Satantic Verses or the Protocols of the Elders of Brussels) has been rejected in three referenda and has not been ratified. These plans include adding more costs onto business; more EU control over financial services; EU oversight of the nuclear industry; more EU control over energy policy; complete EU control over asylum and immigration; even more EU threats to consumer rights; more EU control over transportation; more EU control over justice and home affairs; and more EU involvement in health and education.

ADDING MORE COSTS ONTO BUSINESS

More uncompetitive social model economic policies.
The EU plans to step-up its legislative agenda for a more ‘social’ Europe. The European Commission is increasingly pushing for the agenda which it describes as ‘European values’ (as opposed to Anglo-saxon values) as powerful evidence of the EU’s commitment to the ‘social dimension.’ These policy proposals will make the economy of the EU even more uncompetitive in the global economy; and gives the lie to the claim that Europe is coming our way.

EU to further undermine flexible labour markets.
Trade union power to be expanded. The establishment of European Works Councils will enhance the power of trade unions and will mean employers shall be further hamstrung by EU law. This will make the EU less attractive to investors and drive jobs out of Britain to more adaptable labour markets, particularly those in Asia. This policy proposal comes on top Article 138 of the EC Treaty which lays down that the EU must consult with ‘social partners’ (trade unions) when making social law.

More EU undermining of the free market.
EU to further tie Britain’s hands in the area of social policy. The EU via Articles 136, 137, 140 and 144 of the EC Treaty has the power to force the UK to implement social measures. The EU wishes to expand its power here and produce more costly policies in the fields of social services, social security, housing and health care. Here the European Commission reaffirms its commitment to make social policy issues the cornerstone and aim of all EU law making; leaving the elected British government with not very much to do in that important area.

EU plans to take over the fight against poverty.
EU proposals will see it force upon the UK its approach to tackling poverty. In the UK the issue on how best to tackle poverty and social exclusion has become an important debate; with different approaches and strategies emerging from the two main political parties. However, this debate in the UK will become less relevant as the EU plans to expand its power into this field. The European Commission is proposing that: (1) it can begin dictating strategies for tacking poverty; and (2) that member states must create a National Implementation Body to apply the EU’s plans; alongside that body should be National Advisory Group.

Further EU control over the work life balance.
EU plans changes to social security and leave from work. The European Union is intending to produce more laws to enforce its views on the work life balance. The proposed rules will see maternity leave, for both spouses and ‘life-partners’ increased. The spouses and ‘life-partners’ will also be able to gain more access to social security. These measures will add more costs onto businesses and the taxpayer at a crucial time when they simply cannot be afforded.


MORE EU CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL SERVICES

EU control over tackling the financial crisis.
The European Commission is reinforcing its control over how the UK can handle the economic crisis. The EU is bolstering its rules on how and when state aid can be used to include how rescuing and restructuring proposals are applied, managed and targeted. This means that there is not full UK democratic control over how financial institutions are rescued.

EU control over electronic pre-payment products.
Schemes which involve pre-payment shall be taken under EU Control. This may mean that the UK’s Oyster card scheme will in future be regulated by the European Commission.


THE EU AND THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY

EU control over the management of nuclear fuel.
EU proposals seek to force the UK to store nuclear waste underground; rather than reprocessing the spent fuel. Britain may be forced to adopt the policy of geological storage of nuclear waste. This policy will undermine Britain’s reprocessing industry in favour of French style disposal of spent nuclear fuel. It will also lead to more EU control over Britain’s energy policy.

More EU control over nuclear power.
Nuclear security and safety will come further under the control of the EU. Instead of being under the democratic control of the British government; it is proposed that the EU will take more power over the nuclear industry.


MORE EU CONTROL OVER ENERGY POLICY

EU control over the response to high oil prices.
The EU is seeking to govern how the UK can respond to increased fuel prices. The European Commission is against the cutting of taxes on fuel to offset high oil prices because they feel that this would ‘send the wrong signal’. Therefore, the EU wants member states to redistribute income, in particular to vulnerable groups who may be suffering from higher fuel costs, rather than reduce the price of fuel through the tax regime. OPEC has recently announced a cut-back in production to again force up the cost of oil. Yet, these proposals will limit the freedom of movement of the British government to respond to future fuel shocks.


EU CONTROL OVER ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION

Full EU control over immigration.
The European Commission is re-doubling its efforts to develop a common immigration policy. The EU already has extensive powers over Britain’s immigration rules, but now wants to expand these powers. The European Union aims to take over the coordination of immigration; promote legal immigration into the UK; control the fight against illegal immigration; manage the security issues which arise from immigration; and importantly the EU also wants to control how integration is handled. The EU also aims to beef-up the powers of FRONTEX, its border agency, to implement the EU’s policies.

The EU's asylum policies.
The EU aims to create the completion of a Common European Asylum System. The EU already controls the minimum standards for the treatment of asylum seekers, the minimum rules for granting and withdrawing refugee status and the minimum standards for granting temporary protection. The EU also controls the database recording asylum seekers details. Now it wishes to grab more power which will allow the EU to establish a European Support Office to further control the policies of member states; to determine who is a refugee allowing the EU to decide who should enter the UK; to make asylum more accessiblegrant more rights to those who qualify for subsidiary protection; to make the system more responsive to gender and other ‘vulnerable groups’; and to create a single procedure across all EU member states, which will undermine the independence of the UK’s legal system in that area. The EU also wants to give refugees easier access to the labour market. This is bound to increase the number of fraudulent asylum applications and increase economic migration making unemployment in Britain even higher.


AN EU THREAT TO CONSUMER RIGHTS

More EU control over contract law.
Under EU proposals the right of British consumers to reject defective goods and products that are of unsuitable quality and get their money back will be abolished. Furthermore, the consumer would lose their right to decide whether sub-standard merchandise should be repaired or replaced; instead the EU wants this prerogative to be given to the trader. This will reduce the power of the consumer.


MORE EU CONTROL OVER TRANSPORT

EU Control over charges placed on heavy good vehicles.
The EU wishes to control how and when ‘green’ stealth taxes are placed on heavy goods vehicles. The Levying of tolls and congestion charges will be coming under the control of EU rules. Such charges will have to be made according to a complex methodology decided in Brussels. The EU proposals will add costs onto Britain’s haulage industry for little, or no, environmental benefit. As this is in effect a stealth tax it shows that the tax ‘redline’ is little more than a myth. The proposals will also allow the EU to further define which routes are to be considered Trans-European Road Networks.

EU Control over car tyres.
EU to place more costs onto the car industry and drivers. The EU is to change the type of tyres that cars can have. It is also proposing to make it mandatory for all cars to have tyre pressure monitoring systems installed. The costs of the draft regulation are expected to be around €200 million.

EU to place costs on public sector transport.
Under EU proposals the procurement of transport by the public sector will have to be based on the amount of CO2 the vehicle emits. The European Union’s obsession with carbon dioxide will place more costs on the public sector, public transport and in particular local government; which may have to bear costs in the hundreds of millions as a result of EU proposals.

More EU control over aviation safety.
European Union proposals seek to take more power over the safety of airports, air traffic management and air navigation services. The EU has already established a European Aviation Safety Agency, and now wants to increase its powers to run Britain’s airports.


MORE EU CONTROL OVER JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

EU to take powers over the fight against drugs.
The European Union is proposing to control how Britain tackles drug use. The aim of the EU is to take the powers to decide how to reduce the demand for drugs, reduce their supply and direct international cooperation in the fight against drugs. This will mean that the EU will take over Britain’s right to advocate its independent position at international meetings in particular the UN Committee on Narcotic Drugs.
The EU’s plans will specifically grant it the power to establish control over (1) policies relating to asset recovery and confiscation; (2) to expand the powers of Europol’s Criminal Assets Bureau; (3) intelligence-led policing and control over intelligence databases; (4) strategic planning against future drug threats; and (5) the treatment of drug use.

EU control over criminal records databases.
The EU proposes to take control over national databases of criminal convictions. The EU will take possession of the criminal records databases of each member states. And will determine the encryption system and software when sharing the information with other EU member states.

More power for the European Court of Justice.
The ECJ is set to gain more power over issues relating to visas, immigration, asylum, and powers to escalate judicial cooperation in civil matters. It is proposed to allow all courts the right to appeal directly to the European Court of Justice. This shall mean that its decisions, often politically motivated, are more likely to reach into a greater number of legal cases; bypassing much of the British legal system.


MORE EU INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH AND EDUCATION

EU control over training and vocational education.
EU proposals will see it managing training and burdening this area with red tape. The EU will govern vocational education and training by establishing the criteria and indicators by which it is managed and judged. The policy will also see the EU control the evaluation of investment in the training of teachers and trainers. Surely it is the nation states that should be deciding the skills they want to promote in their own country and how best to teach them.