Bringing EU regional policy back to the UK could save £4.2 billion
Open Europe has published a new briefing looking at the arguments for and against continued EU involvement in regional spending via the structural and cohesion funds in Britain and other member states.
Between 2007 and 2013, Britain will pay around £30bn into the funds, but get back just under £9bn.
While there is a strong case for keeping the funds for the new EU member states, the briefing notes that the participation of richer member states merely creates a circular flow of money which adds costs and channels funds away from where they can have the biggest comparative impact.
The report argues that the Coalition ought to adopt the position of the previous Labour Government which argued that EU regional spending in the richer member states should be devolved back to the national level. This could save the UK up to £4.2bn over seven years.
Click here to read Open Europe's briefing.
Click here to read the press release.
ECB EXPOSURE TO STRUGGLING EUROZONE ECONOMIES HAS SURGED BY 50% IN SIX MONTHS
Open Europe has published a new briefing arguing that through its government bond buying and liquidity provision to banks, the ECB’s exposure to weaker eurozone economies has now reached €705bn, up from €444bn in early summer – an increase of over 50% in only six months.
Open Europe concludes that there may come a day when the ECB has no choice but to intervene on a massive scale. However, if so, that will likely be a stop gap on the path to a new, slimmed-down eurozone, and probably following the default of at least one eurozone member.
Click here to read Open Europe's briefing.
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Book presentation with Dr Johan Van Overtveldt
Open Europe hosted an event in London with Dr Johan Van Overtveldt, Editor-in-Chief of leading Belgian politics magazines Knack and Trends, who presented his latest book, "The end of the euro: The uneasy future of the European Union."
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Writing in City AM, Open Europe’s Raoul Ruparel argues that, despite the media’s clamour, the deal agreed at the latest EU summit does not make any big difference for the City of London, and that David Cameron must persist in his effort to reshape the UK’s relations with the EU.