EU power grab

24 July 2010

The Spectator on the British government's approach to Brussels

Another power grab is looming. Plans are being drawn up for a European order that would mandate British police officers to follow requests lodged from overseas. Given that Britain is home to 1.5 million immigrants from other EU countries (twice as many as Brits living in the EU, according to Eurostat) this will place a disproportional burden on constabularies who are already facing budget cuts of 25 per cent. It is one thing to face a request from a Romanian police service, quite another to be forced to comply with their demands. And yet the British government’s response has been silence.

Why? Each nation-state has found its own ways of dealing with Brussels. Many EU directives are ignored in France and Italy. The Germans do it by the book: five eminent academics recently filed a legal action against the proposed eurozone credit facility and aid package. Their complaint plausibly identifies several infractions against the German Constitution and other EU treaties.

Yet from Britain, nothing but acquie-scence. The government has adopted a see-no-evil policy — knowing that there can be no such thing as a united Tory-Lib Dem policy on the subject. This coalition is a union of Eurosceptics and Euro-enthusiasts, so it remains mute on issues which demand that Britain has a strong national voice — not least because public opinion is now hardening against the EU. A recent Angus Reid poll shows that 51 per cent of the public says that, on balance, EU membership is bad for Britain.

If ministers will not speak about Europe, MPs must. For example, a study might be conducted into whether Britain would be better off out of the EU given that our net payments have risen by almost a third this year, to £8.3 billion. What do we gain in return for this money? Is it, in this age of austerity, a cost we can afford? It is, surely, a subject of legitimate inquiry for a Select Committee.