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In the Papers 13th February 2000SUNDAY TELEGRAPHEconomic Agenda by Bill Jamieson True EU cost MICHAEL FABRICANT'S Bill for a Parliamentary Commission to probe the costs and benefits of joining the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) gets its first reading tomorrow. Well done, that man. Fabricant's argument is that there should be an open-minded examination of the pros and cons before we go further down the road of European political integration and union. Helping this debate will be a cost-benefit analysis this week of the UK's EU membership from the Institute of Directors. The discussion paper, by Graeme Leach, argues that the aggregate impact of the EU budget, common agricultural policy, customs union, single market and EU social welfare model is negative for the UK. His most conservative estimate is that the net cost of EU membership is about £15bn a year, while the true current net cost of membership could be as high as £50bn. Tuesday brings a colloquium organised by Politeia on its recent pamphlet Britain and Europe, Choices for Change, setting out the costs of further integration and the options for a recalibration of our relationship with the EU. Speakers include Professor Patrick Minford, Christopher Johnson and Graham Bishop of Salomon Smith Barney. Details and copies of Choices for Change are available from Politeia at 22 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OHR (tel: 0171 240 5070) at a discount price of £7.00 |
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