Open Europe believes that if the EU is to meet the challenges of the twenty first century it needs to embrace radical and urgent reform based on economic liberalisation and more flexible institutions. Our aim, as an independent think-tank, is to promote this reform programme by providing policy-makers, business people, commentators and academics across the EU with original and research-driven ideas.
Click on the links below to view the relevant area of research:
The EU Constitution and EU politics
Trade and development
Institutional reform and transparency
Single Market and regulation
Environment and energy
Polling and public opinion
Justice, home affairs and migration
Economic reform
Monetary union and the euro
The EU Constitution and EU politics
New Open Europe briefing: What to expect from the EU in 2011
23.12.10
Open Europe has published a new briefing outlining what to expect from the EU in 2011.
It will be an absolutely crucial year for the euro, with eurozone governments facing record levels of refinancing and potentially more bail-outs. The EU will also begin negotiations on the future of the long-term budget, with the UK holding a pivotal role in the talks.
To read Open Europe's briefing, please click here.
To read the press release, click here.
Lost in space: how the cost of the EU's Galileo satellite project has sky-rocketed
17.10.10
Open Europe has published a new briefing showing that the cost to European taxpayers of developing and running the EU’s Galileo satellite project for 20 years has gone from €2.6 billion under the original estimates to a staggering €22.2 billion, according to recently leaked information.
Meanwhile, the UK’s contribution towards the cost of completing and running the project has gone from £385 million, under the original estimates, to £2.95 billion, under the revised figures.
Originally due be finished by 2008 and chiefly financed by the private sector, Galileo has become completely taxpayer-funded and is now not expected to be up and running until 2017/2018. Open Europe argues that member states need to avoid spending good money after bad until it’s clear that the benefits of the project outweigh the costs in the long-term.
To read Open Europe's briefing, please click here.
To read the press release, click here.
The 2010 General Election and the EU
14.05.10
In the run up to the General Election, Open Europe looked at the main parties' positions on the EU, ranging from issues such as the euro to cooperation in EU justice and policing measures.
In the wake of the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, Open Europe also analysed the potential flashpoints that could test the new coalition government in Europe.
To read Open Europe's press release in response to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, click here.
To read Open Europe's briefing on the main parties' postions on Europe, click here.
To read the press release, click here.
The EU in 2010 – what to expect from the Spanish EU Presidency
18.12.09
From 1 January 2010, Spain takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, currently held by Sweden.
The new Lisbon Treaty rules mean that the country holding the Presidency is stripped of its power to ‘represent’ the EU because of the appointment of a permanent EU President and Foreign Minister. However, Spanish ministers will chair most meetings of the Council of Ministers, and as the first in the next ‘trio’ of presidencies, Spain gets to lay out an agenda for the EU for the first six months of the year.
In a new briefing note, Open Europe outlines the main priorities for the Spanish EU Presidency, and takes a look ahead to key events and developments in the EU in 2010.
To read Open Europe's briefing, click here.
How the Irish government lost out in negotiations on the Lisbon Treaty
04.09.09
With just weeks to go before the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, new research from Open Europe shows that during negotiations on the original text, the Irish government objected to many of the Treaty’s most important elements.
The government failed in the overwhelming majority of the amendments it tried to make to the original text during negotiations in Brussels in 2002 to 2004. Dick Roche, the Irish government’s representative to the European Convention, made 149 proposed amendments to the text, of which only 36 resulted in changes to the Treaty. 113 were unsuccessful, giving a success rate of only 24%.
To read Open Europe's briefing, click here.
What to expect from the Swedish EU Presidency - July 2009
30.06.09
On 1 July, Sweden takes over the rotating Presidency of the European Union. Open Europe has published a briefing which details the key issues facing the EU during the Swedish Presidency.
The recession will be at the top of the agenda, with new proposals to regulate financial markets across the EU taking shape, followed by climate change and a controversial new justice and home affairs programme.
To read Open Europe's briefing, click here.
Irish to vote on exactly the same text of Lisbon Treaty – EU admits that nothing has changed
19.06.09
EU leaders have agreed to a series of ‘guarantees’ on the Lisbon Treaty in return for Ireland holding a second referendum, after Irish voters rejected the Treaty last year.
Despite promises from the Irish government that they would not force people to vote on exactly the same text a second time around, the deal reached this week makes no change whatsoever to the text of the Treaty, meaning Irish voters will be voting on exactly the same text they rejected last year.
Today the EU Presidency confirmed that: “the text of the guarantees explicitly states that the Lisbon Treaty is not changed”.
To read Open Europe's briefing, click here.
What does the European Parliament do and how does it affect your everyday life?
24.04.09
Despite the important role of the European Parliament, voter turnout has continued to decrease since the first direct elections in 1979. The Parliament has an image of being out of touch and distant from its electorate.
This has left the public asking ‘why should I bother voting in the European elections?’
Open Europe has published a briefing seeking to answer the basic questions voters may be asking themselves ahead of the European elections in June. It also outlines what is wrong with the European Parliament at the moment, and gives several simple proposals for how MEPs can better connect with voters.
To read the briefing, click here.
The EU in 2009
31.12.08
Open Europe has published a new briefing note which looks at the likely developments in the EU in 2009.
It examines the agenda of the upcoming Czech EU Presidency, and looks ahead to the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, and other key events such as the European elections.
The briefing can be downloaded here.
The French EU Presidency 2008 - what to expect
25.03.08
Open Europe has published a briefing note looking ahead to the French Presidency of the EU, which begins in July 2008. The Presidency promises to be busy and extremely ambitious.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s top priorities for the six months include: laying the groundwork for an EU defence force and common EU defence policy; Forging a common EU immigration and asylum policy; Setting up the new institutions set out in the Lisbon Treaty – e.g. appointing a new EU Foreign Minister and a permanent EU President ready to start work in January.
The briefing can be downloaded here.
A guide to the constitutional treaty
03.02.08
Open Europe has published a side by side comparative text of the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Constitution, and has released an updated guide to what it means.
The guide gives an overview of the main changes brought about by the revised constitution, in areas ranging from foreign policy to justice and home affairs.
The comparative text can be downloaded here.
The guide to the constitutional treaty can be downloaded here .
Open Europe has also published Parliamentary briefings on the Lisbon Treaty focussing on the Treaty's implications in the following areas:
Justice and Home Affairs; Energy; Charter of Fundamental Rights; Single Market; Foreign policy and defence ; International development ; Institutional changes ; Climate change.
Broken promises: Lessons from 10 years of the Blair Government in Europe
03.07.07
A new briefing from Open Europe argues that the UK Government’s apparent U-turn on the referendum on the EU constitutional treaty is the latest in a long tradition of broken promises from the Government on its EU policy. Over the last ten years the Government has broken promise after promise about the way that EU integration would develop – from insisting that the Charter of Fundamental Rights would never become legally binding, to promising that the UK would never give up its veto on immigration policy, nor give away its rebate. In a new briefing we highlight 39 of the Blair Government’s most significant broken promises and missed opportunities.
To read Open Europe's briefing click here
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Why a fudge won't work
21.06.07
The UK government is now briefing that it will get a “UK-specific” opt out from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Open Europe’s legal analysis, based on interviews with judges at the European Court of Justice, shows that there is a powerful body of evidence that even with such “safeguards”, the Charter would still come to change national law.
Read the report “ The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Why a fudge won't work ”
The case for a referendum
20.06.07
Open Europe has published three new research notes on the new EU constitutional treaty. The notes look at: the likely contents of the new version of the constitutional treaty; the government’s arguments about why it is breaking its promise to hold a referendum; and how the original purpose of the constitutional process - to bring Europe closer to the people - has been lost sight of. Read them below:
Just how “new” is the revised constitutional treaty?
The Government's arguments examined
Crunch time for Galileo: Will the UK agree to bail out the EU’s collapsing satellite project?
21.05.07
Open Europe has published a new briefing note on the EU’s Galileo project. EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot last week called on taxpayers to stump up €2.4 billion to prevent the collapse of the EU’s planned satellite navigation programme, Galileo, which has been dogged by delays and ballooning costs since it was first proposed by Neil Kinnock in 1999.
As well as a question about how much money member states will pump into EU space projects, a second issue on the agenda is who will control future space projects. Insiders suggest that the Commission wants to set up a new unit in DG Enterprise to run not just Galileo, but a number of other space-based projects.
Read the briefing note “ Crunch time for Galileo: Will the UK agree to bail out the EU’s collapsing satellite project? ”
The new treaty: what will it mean, and do we need a referendum?
07.05.07
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While much still remains to be negotiated prior to the key summit on 22 June, Open Europe's pamphlet argues that the outline of the new treaty is already starting to emerge. It seems likely that EU leaders will attempt to reintroduce many of the key features of the rejected Constitution in the new treaty, including an EU President, an EU Foreign Minister with substantial new powers, and a change to the voting system which would reduce the UK’s ability to block legislation by 30%. Nicolas Sarkozy was the first EU leader to call for a “mini” treaty which could be introduced without a referendum. The pamphlet argues that if the new treaty does, as expected, reintroduce many of the significant constitutional innovations that were proposed in the EU Constitution, then voters should be consulted in a referendum. Read the pamphlet “The new treaty: what will it mean, and do we need a referendum? ” |
The Commission's Annual Policy Strategy for 2008: What is new and significant?
27.04.07
Open Europe has made a submission analysing the EU Commission’s 2008 Annual Policy Strategy to the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee.
2008 will see EU intervention in a number of important areas. These include regulation of urban infrastructure and possible moves towards an EU-wide road charging scheme; reforms aimed at ‘completion’ of the Single Market which could see proposals for standardised rules on savings and investments, whilst the Commission hopes to have implemented a harmonised corporate tax base in Europe by 2010; and in justice and policing, there will be moves towards a Common European Asylum System and a central fingerprint database.
Read the submission “ The Commission's Annual Policy Strategy for 2008: What is new and significant? ”
The EU in 2007
22.12.06
Open Europe has published a pamphlet looking at the likely developments in the EU in 2007. It explores the debate about the return of the European Constitution, looks at the rising tensions within the eurozone, and examines the agenda of the incoming German Presidency of the EU.
European politicians are determined that 2007 will be the year that the European Constitution is resurrected. If they succeed, Gordon Brown’s new government could be under a lot of pressure from day one.
With tensions also building within the eurozone over the high euro, 2007 seems set to be the year that the whole issue of ‘Europe’ comes back up the political agenda.
Read the pamphlet “The EU in 2007”
A year since the no votes: Can Europe learn to listen?
29.05.06
In a new briefing, Open Europe looks at the debate surrounding the EU Constitution one year on from the no votes in France and the Netherlands, and the different plans to resurrect the Constitution. Since its rejection, the debate over the EU Constitution has not focused on whether but how to bring it back, a further six member states have ratified it, and a consensus has formed amongst EU leaders that the Constitution will have to be revisited in 2007.
Read the briefing note “A year since the no votes”
The making- and breaking- of New Labour's European policy?
02.02.06
In a speech at Oxford University on 2 February Tony Blair defended his Prime Ministerial record on Europe, arguing that he has achieved his aim of putting Britain at the heart of Europe through a policy of “positive engagement”.
In a special briefing Open Europe analyses the failure of the Government’s European strategy.
Read the briefing note “The making- and breaking- of New Labour's European policy?”
EU leaders plan return of EU Constitution
12.01.06
With the EU’s budget “crisis” and the UK’s Presidency now safely out of the way, EU leaders have begun to return their focus and energies to reviving the rejected European Constitution. The Austrian government, which holds the Presidency of the EU for the first half of 2006, has signalled that devising a strategy for bringing back the EU Constitution will be one of its top priorities.
The new German government, widely credited with having played the key role in securing a deal on the EU’s budget, has thrown its full weight behind the plan. Their traditional allies in Paris are also in favour despite the emphatic rejection of the text in their own country. Bringing back the Constitution is unlikely to be a straightforward process however, as the French and Germans disagree on strategy. In this briefing note we look at the positions of the key players in the debate and the possibilities for the eventual return of the European Constitution.
Read the briefing note “EU leaders plan return of EU Constitution”
The Austrian Presidency of the EU: the issues to watch
01.01.06
The Austrian Government took over the EU Presidency from Britain on 1 January and has already set out an agenda which runs counter to the UK’s goals.
The Austrians plan to alter the proposed Services directive, "coordinate" social security systems and tighten the working time directive further, threatening the UK’s opt-out.
EU leaders are also beginning to look at ways to resurrect the failed EU Constitution. In this briefing note we identify the key issues to watch for in the next 6 months.
Read the briefing note “The Austrian Presidency of the EU: the issues to Watch”
The UK presidency of the EU: rhetoric and reality
27.10.05
After the two ‘no’ votes in France and the Netherlands and the failure of EU leaders to agree on a budget, the EU was widely perceived to be in a state of crisis. Many commentators saw the UK’s Presidency as a golden opportunity for the freshly re-elected Labour Government to push through badly-needed reforms. Tony Blair set out an ambitious agenda in his speech to the European Parliament in the summer.
However, as we set out in this briefing, the reality has been quite different to the rhetoric about reform. The British Presidency of the EU has been a disappointment so far. To date there has been no progress on reform of the EU budget and the CAP, or on reform of the EU’s economic and trade policies.
Read the briefing note “The UK presidency of the EU: rhetoric and reality”
Trade and development
The EU and the Mediterranean: good neighbours?
8.05.11
A new Open Europe report argues that the EU has failed to promote democracy and development in North Africa and the Middle East, despite committing €13 billion in aid to the region between 1995 and 2013.
Over the last decade, the EU’s misguided preference for stability over democracy in its Southern neighbourhood led it to provide direct funding to regimes that have since lost popular legitimacy, such as Egypt and Tunisia.
The report also highlights the EU’s mixed record on enhancing trade and prosperity in the region, noting that the annual trade deficit of Mediterranean countries with the EU soared from €530 million in 2006 to €20.4 billion in 2010.
Taking into account the failures of the past, Open Europe proposes ten reforms to boost the effectiveness of the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy in the Mediterranean.
Read the report here.
To read the press release, click here.
EU external aid: who is it for?
17.04.11
A new Open Europe report examines how much the EU spends in development aid and where. It identifies five key problem areas with EU aid, including a lack of poverty focus, with only 46% of EU aid reaching lower income countries compared with 74% of UK aid.
EU aid is also subject to unnecessary administration and transaction costs, with money often recycled between national governments, the EU and other bodies up to three times before it reaches those in need.
Read the report here.
To read the press release, click here.
Economic Partnership Agreements: is the EU rushing towards disaster on 31 December? And how will we sort out the mess afterwards?
24.12.07
A briefing note from Open Europe gives an update on the stalled negotiations over the EU's Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), arguing that the situation means that developing countries face economic uncertainty and tariff rises on exports to the EU, whilst regional integration could also be damaged by the deals.
Read the briefing note “here.”
Economic Partnership Agreements: What's the best way forward?
12.10.07
A new study from Open Europe argues that the EU must adopt a more flexible approach towards Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), currently being negotiated with African, Carribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Specifically, it concludes that the EU should take the threat of higher tariffs and reduced market access off the table, and should not make aid conditional on signing up to an EPA.
Read the report “ Economic Partnership Agreements: What's the best way forward? ”
Five ways to make trade work for development
21.05.07
A new study from Open Europe proposes five ways to make trade work for development, covering negotiations at Doha, the global trade preference system, public health policy, trade facilitation and reform of the Kyoto Protocol's carbon trading provisions.
The study argues that the multilateral trade framework is threatened by the EU's current negotiating stance at Doha, creating the risk of trade governance unravelling to produce a vastly inferior web of bilateral deals which would put developing countries at a disadvantage. The study sets out proposals for a far more ambitious European offer in order to break the deadlock.
Read the report “ Five ways to make trade work for development ”
EU aid: is it effective?
29.05.07
A new study from Open Europe finds that the EU is not spending its aid budget effectively, and concludes that the money would be more effectively spent directly through DFID.
The report argues that delivering aid through the 118 European Commission delegations represents an added cost, not a saving. Closing the Commission’s delegations and scaling back admin spending in Brussels could release huge sums for real aid - potentially over a billion euros a year.
It also argues that the wrong conditions are attached to EU aid. On the one hand the Commission has linked aid to the acceptance of new “Economic Partnership Agreements”, which are controversial because they require developing countries to bring down their trade barriers against the EU relatively rapidly. On the other the EU still gives aid to Cuba and China, and continues to run projects in Uzbekistan, despite these countries’ poor human rights records.
Read the report “ EU aid: is it effective? ”
World trade talks: how the EU is blocking progress
11.11.05
Hopes are fading fast for a successful agreement at the WTO talks in Hong Kong next month. If the talks collapse developing countries and the poorest people in the West will be the biggest losers, and the blame will rightly fall on the EU for its refusal to make significant efforts to reduce its trade barriers and subsidies.
In a briefing note we look at the claims made by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and show how little the EU is offering in reality. A spokesman for Peter Mandelson has already made it clear that the EU will not offer to reduce its agricultural subsidies "by a single cent". And despite the EU's claim that it will cut its agricultural trade barriers in half, we find that the EU's offer amounts to a cut of just 1% in real terms. It's no coincidence that the rest of the world is now blaming the EU for undermining the talks.
Read the briefing note “World trade talks: how the EU is blocking progress”
Trade justice or free trade?
2.11.05
Trade justice campaigners are today holding a mass lobby of MPs, ahead of the key WTO meeting in Hong Kong in December. The lobby, organised by the Trade Justice Movement, aims to promote “fair trade not free trade”.
Some of the ideas of the Trade Justice Movement are excellent – such as the removal of trade barriers raised by developed countries against poor countries. However, other ideas advocated by a number of groups within the trade justice lobby are misguided, and some of the claims made about the “damaging effects” of free trade are not based on a balanced assessment or a proper economic analysis.
Read the briefing note “Trade justice or free trade?”
Open up: why the EU must reform to survive
20.10.05
To conincide with our launch, Open Europe has commissioned a study by Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF), which analyses the potential benefits of removing the EU’s trade barriers and reforming the Common Agricultural Policy. The report demonstrates that economic liberalization would benefit the EU and the developing world. A short factsheet summarising the findings is also available.
A separate report examines the implications of OEF’s findings: what strategy should supporters of trade reform advocate? And why have attempts at reform had so little impact to date? What lessons should we learn?
Read the factsheet, “Open Up” (4 pages)
Read the full report by Oxford Economic Forecasting,
“Trade liberalisation and CAP reform in the EU” (78 pages)
Read the report on how to bring down Europe's trade barriers,
“Why the EU must reform to survive” (69 pages)
To view the presentation used at the launch, please click
“here”
Institutional reform and transparency
The case for European localism
11.09.11
In a briefing note for Open Europe, Anthony Browne, former Director of Policy Exchange, and Mats Persson, Director of Open Europe, argue that in the wake of the euro crisis the UK should position itself as the national champion of "European localism”, a new long-term strategy that is capable of winning support across the political spectrum in the UK, and from governments and parliaments across the EU.
The briefing sets out a number of specific proposals for how to achieve European localism in practice, including: put in place a “red card” mechanism allowing national parliaments to block a Commission proposal or over-turn ECJ rulings; allow the UK parliament to approve the appointment of ECJ judges; and introduce a new mechanism enabling member states to repatriate powers over certain policy areas. The briefing also argues that the UK Government should consider taking the European Commission to the ECJ for breaches of the subsidiarity principle.
To read "The case for European localism", please click here.
To read the press release, click here.
Cost of EU quangos has tripled since 2005 and is set to reach £2.1 billion in 2011
24.10.10
Following the announcement by the UK government that it intends to scrap 192 independent government agencies, Open Europe has published a briefing showing that, in stark contrast to UK plans, the cost of EU quangos has tripled over the past five years and is set to hit £2.1 billion in 2011.
The UK will pay a substantial £300mn towards this cost in 2011. For this amount, the UK Government could afford to rollback almost half of its cuts to Child Tax Credits for working parents.
Despite the austerity measures sweeping Europe, the Commission has proposed a massive 8% increase in the 2011 budget for EU agencies and committees.
Open Europe argues that by simply cutting back immediately on the agencies and committees that duplicate work and deal with issues already covered by other EU bodies, the EU could save £630mn in 2011.
To read Open Europe's briefing, please click here.
To read the press release, click here.
MEPs cost taxpayers five times more than UK MPs
04.06.09
Open Europe has published a comparison between the cost of the European Parliament and the cost of the UK Parliament.
Open Europe’s comparison finds that the European Parliament costs taxpayers £1.8 million for each MEP per year. This is in contrast to the House of Commons, which costs taxpayers £364,000 for each member per year, and the House of Lords, which costs £208,000 per member per year.
Open Europe’s comparison, based on the respective parliaments’ budget allocations, finds that while national MPs at Westminster on average claim up to £148,297 in allowances each year, their counterparts in Brussels claim up to £363,000 per year. Furthermore, MEPs do not have to produce receipts to claim their allowances, in contrast with national MPs.
To read the press release click here.
Open Europe's league table of MEPs
25.05.09
Ahead of the European elections, Open Europe has published a ranking of all 785 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), scoring their record on promoting transparency and reform in the European Union over the last five-year term.
The ranking seeks to answer some of the questions voters may be asking themselves ahead of the European elections. Open Europe's league table is based on 20 different categories relating to transparency, accountability, democracy, and waste.
To see the ranking click here.
To read the guide to the ranking click here.
To read the press release click here.
The hard sell: EU communication policy and the campaign for hearts and minds
27.12.08
Open Europe has published research which shows that the European Union is spending billions of euros a year promoting itself and its central aim of 'ever closer union'. In 2008 alone, it spent more than 2.4 billion euros. That is more than Coca Cola spends on advertising each year, worldwide.
Open Europe shows how EU information policy is geared not towards providing neutral, balanced information, but towards trying to convince people to support EU integration.
Read Open Europe's book “The hard sell: EU communication policy and the campaign for hearts and minds”.
European Parliament Transparency Initiative
23.05.08
In March, Open Europe sent a survey to all UK MEPs asking them to give details on their arrangements for handling their expenses. Around half have now answered. To see their replies, click here.
To read the most recent press release on it, click here.
Getting a grip: reforming EU scrutiny at Westminster
07.04.06
Open Europe has released a new pamphlet calling for radical changes in the way that the House of Commons scrutinises EU legislation.
The pamphlet - Getting a grip: Reforming EU Scrutiny at Westminster - argues that Westminster MPs should have the same powers enjoyed by MPs in Denmark and Sweden to control what the Government can and can’t sign up to in Brussels.
Read the report “Getting a grip: reforming EU scrutiny at Westminster”
Single Market and regulation
Continental shift: Safeguarding the UK's financial trade in a changing Europe
05.12.11
Open Europe has published a new report arguing that the UK Government should seek safeguards over future EU financial services laws to ensure continued trade and growth in this sector.
The report notes that the UK's financial services sector contributed £53.4bn in taxes and a £35.2bn trade surplus last year. While Britain has benefitted from EU financial regulation in the past through more open markets, the UK is increasingly losing influence over the shape and thrust of EU financial law as a result of the financial and eurozone crisis.
There are currently 49 new EU regulatory proposals in the pipeline which could affect the financial services sector. While some of them are justified and proper regulation is necessary, very few are geared towards trade and growth. The report also argues that the EU market is likely to offer limited new growth opportunities for UK financial sector firms, at a time when opportunities elsewhere in the world are on the rise.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read Open Europe's press release click here.
Repatriating EU social policy: The best choice for jobs and growth?
09.11.11
Open Europe has published a new report examining the nature, costs and benefits of EU social and employment policy, including the possible avenues that could be used to repatriate powers over EU social and employment law to the UK.
Open Europe estimates that EU social law currently costs UK business and the public sector £8.6bn a year and that cutting the cost of these regulations by 50% could result in a boost in economic output equivalent to the creation of 140,000 new jobs in Britain. Under a scenario where the benefits of deregulation would be split between higher employment and increased productivity, which is more likely, a 50% cut could generate the equivalent of 60,000 new jobs in the UK in addition to adding £4.3bn to economic output.
Open Europe sets out a ‘double lock’ which could serve as a model for restoring UK control over EU powers. The briefing argues that Britain needs a comprehensive plan to get powers back from the EU as part of the long-term political settlement to reshape Europe in the wake of the current crisis.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read Open Europe's press release click here.
New EU rules on agency workers could put 28,000 young people’s employment contracts at risk
29.09.11
New Open Europe research estimates that around 28,000 temporary employment contracts for those aged between 16 and 24 in the UK are under threat from the Agency Workers Regulations which came into force on 1 October 2011, which implement the EU’s Temporary Agency Workers Directive.
This comes as a major blow at a time when the number of young people (16-24 year olds) not in education, employment or training (NEET) stands at 979,000 and the Government is actively trying to get this age group into work.
To read Open Europe's press release click here.
ECJ ruling could cost young women drivers an extra £4,300
28.02.11
Open Europe has calculated that if EU judges rule to scrap the insurance industry's opt-out from the EU Gender Directive, UK insurers will need to raise an extra £936m in capital due to new uncertainties created in the markets for motor insurance, annuities and life insurance. These costs will be passed on to consumers.
Open Europe estimates that, on average, a 17 year old female driver will have to pay an extra £4,300 in insurance premiums by the time she is 26 as a consequence of the ruling.
To read Open Europe's briefing click here.
To read the press release click here.
Shifting Powers: What the EU’s financial supervisors will mean for the UK and the City of London
06.09.10
EU finance ministers have endorsed a proposal to create three new pan-European supervisors to oversee the banking, insurance and securities markets in the EU.
Open Europe has published a new report arguing that the proposal represents a clear shift in powers from national regulators to the EU, and a potential risk to the City of London. A “single rulebook” could benefit the City but that assumes that the UK will write it.
But crucially, the voting structure within the supervisors is heavily biased against the UK. Most decisions will be taken by simple majority, meaning that the UK would have the exact same voting strength as all other member states despite being home to the bulk of the EU’s financial services industry. This would give the UK highly limited ability to block measures it disagrees with.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
EU regulation has cost the UK £124 billion since 1998, 71% of the total cost
30.03.10
Open Europe has published the most comprehensive study to date on the cost of regulation to the UK economy, based on over 2,300 of the Government's own impact assessments.
Open Europe finds that regulation has cost the UK economy £176 billion since 1998. Of this amount, £124 billion, or 71%, had its origin in EU legislation.
The report finds that, on average, it is two-and-a-half times more cost-effective to regulate at the national than the EU level.
Open Europe's report sets out 30 ways to cut red tape, with a particular focus on how the next government can stem the flow of burdensome new EU regulations.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
Top 100 EU regulations to cost UK economy £184 billion by 2020
21.12.09
Open Europe has published a ‘Top 100 list’ of the most costly EU regulations introduced in the UK since 1998. Based on the UK Government’s own impact assessments, Open Europe estimates that the top 100 existing EU laws will cost the UK economy a staggering £184 billion between 2010 and 2020, even in the unlikely event that no new regulations are be passed during that time period.
For the same amount of money, the UK could abolish its entire budget deficit.
Open Europe finds that while the UK benefits from some of these regulations, many laws originating in Brussels are overly prescriptive and unnecessarily burdensome. An incoming UK Government must take a radical new approach to EU legislation.
To view Open Europe's list of the Top 100 costliest EU regulations click here.
To read the press release click here.
Repatriation of EU social policy: The right focus for a Conservative Government
04.11.09
EU social and employment laws have had a massive impact on the UK economy, accounting for 25 percent of the total cost of regulation in the UK over the past decade. Looking ahead, UK laws derived from EU social legislation will cost the British economy more than £71 billion between 2010 and 2020, even if no new laws are passed in that time.
In the first in a series of papers looking at which policy areas a Conservative government should prioritise under its declared aim to “repatriate” powers from the EU, Open Europe details how the Conservatives could go about the repatriation of EU social and employment policy in practice.
Read Open Europe's briefing “Repatriation of EU social policy: The right focus for a Conservative Government”.
The EU's AIFM Directive: Likely impact and best way forward
21.09.09
Based on two surveys of private equity managers and hedge fund managers, carried out during August 2009, Open Europe has published the most comprehensive study to date of the likely impact of the EU's proposed Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive.
Based on our surveys, we estimate that the hedge fund and private equity sectors contributed around €9 billion (£7.9 billion) in tax revenues to the EU economy in 2008.
We estimate that the Directive will in total cost the private equity and hedge fund sectors in the EU between €1.3 billion and €1.9 billion (£1.2 billion and £1.6 billion) in the first year in compliance cost alone. At the same time, the ability of European investors to choose freely from amongst the best funds and managers could be cut by up to 80 percent.
Read Open Europe's report “The EU's AIFM Directive: Likely impact and best way forward”.
Read Open Europe's seperate briefing “Investment Trusts and the AIFM Directive”, setting out the case for excluding investment trusts from the scope of the proposed Directive.
Time's up! The case against the EU's 48 hour working week
16.03.09
Open Europe has published new anecdotal and quantitative evidence showing why ending the opt-out from the EU's 48 hour working week would be devastating for the UK. 10 people from right across society explain what losing the opt-out would mean to them and their industry.
We estimate that the Working Time Directive as it currently applies in the UK is already costing the economy between £3.5 billion and £3.9 billion every year. Through a series of unfortunate amendments and court cases, the cost of this Directive has risen steadily year-on-year since its introduction in 1998. We estimate this cost could rise to between £9.2 billion and £11.9 billion a year by 2011, should the UK lose the opt-out.
Read Open Europe's briefing “Time's up! The case against the EU's 48 hour working week”.
Strikes over foreign labour – what’s really going on?
04.02.09
Open Europe has responded to the confusion about the link between EU law and the strikes at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire over the use of foreign labour. In a new briefing, Open Europe attempts to clarify the details of the EU's Posted Workers’ Directive and the recent Laval and Viking cases at the ECJ – which have been subject to widespread misunderstanding among the media, politicians and the unions themselves.
Open Europe argues that what the unions and some MPs are really objecting to is the basic principle of free movement within the EU – not the terms of the Posted Workers’ Directive or a set of court cases.
To read Open Europe's briefing, click here.
Out of control? Measuring a decade of EU regulation
01.02.09
Open Europe has published one of the most comprehensive studies ever undertaken of the cost of regulation introduced in the past decade in the UK.
Analysing more than 2,000 Impact Assessments, Open Europe has found that regulations introduced between 1998 and 2008 have cost the UK economy £148.2 billion. Of the cumulative cost of regulations introduced over the past decade, £106.6 billion, or nearly 72%, had its origin in EU legislation.
EU regulations introduced since 1998 have therefore cost the UK economy almost £107 billion - far more than the UK's total gross contributions to the EU budget over the same period.
Read Open Europe's report “Out of control? Measuring a decade of EU regulation”.
The end of the UK opt-out from the Working Time Directive?
16.12.08
The European Parliament has voted to scrap the UK's opt-out from the 48 hour working week, taking a position at odds with an agreement reached by member states.
Open Europe has estimated that ending the opt-out could cost the UK economy between £47.74 billion and £66.45 billion by 2020, with a middle estimate of £57 billion. This is more than £2,300 per household and more than five times the UK's annual contribution to the EU budget.
The briefing can be downloaded here.
The Health Directive
03.07.08
The European Commission has re-launched its proposed Health Directive. The Controversial Directive means that the UK Government must choose between the proposed EU Directive and the NHS model of funding. To read the press release, click here.
The EU Agency Workers Directive: a step back for reform in Europe
10.06.08
Open Europe has responded to the EU's Temporary Agency Workers Directive. We argue that that the Directive is a step backwards for both the UK's and Europe's competitiveness. Click here to read the press release, and here to read the briefing note.
The EU and You: How the EU affects everyday life in the UK
04.03.08
A new paper reviews a selection of the everyday effects of EU law, noting that the EU is responsible for such diverse things as fortnightly bin collections, higher electricity bills, home information packs and rules on children of twelve having to sit in car booster seats.
Read the briefing note “The EU and You: How the EU affects everyday life in the UK”
The Health Services Directive: what will it mean for the NHS?
20.12.07
A briefing note from Open Europe argues that while quasi-markets in healthcare are a good thing, the specific proposals in the Health Directive are not the right way to go about introducing greater choice. The paper notes that particular features of the Directive - at least as currently drafted - are problematic and would potentially favour higher income groups.
Read the briefing note “The Health Services Directive”
How big is the acquis communautaire?
02.01.07
The EU Commission has long claimed that the acquis communautaire – the body of EU legislation which European companies, charities and individuals have to comply with - is roughly 80,000 pages long. However, research by Open Europe suggests that such estimates are seriously out of date.
A huge increase in the burden of EU regulation over the last ten years is now visible even in the physical volume of EU legislation. We found that the EU has passed a staggering 666,879 pages of law since its inception in 1957, 26% of which are still active. Thus we calculate that the true size of the active acquis communautaire is over 170,000 pages long - more than double the number of pages that is normally claimed by the EU Commission and other commentators.
Read the briefing note “How big is the acquis communautaire?”
Selling the City short? A review of the EU's Financial Services Action Plan
04.12.06
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Open Europe has released the first comprehensive economic study of the EU’s Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) – a programme of legislation initiated in 1999 which is intended to create a single market in financial services. Working with official regulatory impact assessments, consultancy reports, investment bank equity research and estimates given to us during our consultations for this report, the study finds that the FSAP will cost the UK industry up to £23.5 billion by 2010. The study argues that due to heavy-handed regulation, many of the 42 measures in the FSAP are likely to lead to greater costs than benefits. Read the pamphlet “Selling the City short? A review of the EU's Financial Services Action Plan” |
The decline of the single market?
08.03.06
In a new briefing Open Europe looks at Europe’s drift towards protectionism and whether the single market is in decline. The EU is supposed to mean free movement of goods, services, labour and capital. But with takeovers blocked, the services directive undermined, and free movement of workers denied to new member states, the reality is falling short of the vision.
Read the briefing note “The decline of the single market”
The Services Directive-can Europe Deliver?
13.02.06
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A study by Open Europe on the Services Directive examines how the EU’s attempt to open up its internal market for services is running into the sand, and calls for pro-reform Governments to fight back against attempts to use the directive to impose greater regulation on business. Read the report “The services directive-can Europe deliver?” |
EU red tape costs UK £30 billion
28.11.05
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A study by Open Europe finds that EU legislation has been responsible for 77% of the cost of regulation on businesses since 1998. The study calculates that EU-derived legislation has cost the UK economy £30 billion since 1998 alone. The report also finds that despite repeated promises by the European Commission that it will reduce red tape, the burden of EU regulation on the economy is still rising sharply. The report proposes four ways to reduce the cost of regulation, drawing on the experiences of other EU member states. Read the report “Less regulation: 4 ways to cut the burden of EU red tape” |
Environment and energy
The EU Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package - Are we about to be locked into the wrong policy?
09.10.08
Open Europe has produced the first independent estimate of the cost and wider effects of the EU's new package of climate change measures, currently under negotiation.
The plan is the most ambitious EU programme since the launch of the euro. We estimate that the cost of the package as a whole will be huge: more than 73 billion euros per year by 2020 for the EU 25, and £9bn per year for the UK.
Importantly, the study concludes that the EU's proposals are an overpriced solution to climate change, largely because they artificially drive investment towards very high-cost methods of cutting carbon.
Read Open Europe's report “The EU Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package - Are we about to be locked into the wrong policy?”.
What works? How to reduce emissions at the lowest cost
22.01.08
Open Europe has published an in-depth analysis of climate change policy in Europe, conducted in collaboration with Europe Economics. The study finds that the EU's binding targets for biofuels and renewables are not the most effective way of fighting climate change, and suggests that absolute emissions reduction targets and carbon pricing through tax would be better solutions.
Read Open Europe's report “What works? How to reduce emissions at the lowest cost”.
Read Europe Economics' report “A Comparison of the Costs of Alternative Policies for Reducing UK Carbon Emissions”.
Open Europe has also published a briefing discussing the implications for the UK of the Commission's proposals for renewables and biofuels targets. Read “EU renewable energy and biofuel targets – what will they mean?”.
Constitution's new energy powers could cost the UK £6bn
09.08.07
An Open Europe briefing note focuses on the new energy powers in the treaty. The study notes that the UK Government made a good argument against giving the EU more powers in this area when the original Constitution was being drawn up, but then later gave in. It argues that the move to majority voting in this area could prevent the UK from blocking a costly proposal to increase oil reserves, which could cost the UK £6bn.
The research also notes that the Government is now advancing a dishonest argument to cover up its failure in this area, claiming that the new power is needed to break up energy monopolies, when this is already covered by majority voting under the Internal Market.
Read the briefing note “What the Constitutional Treaty means in practice: Energy as a case study”
Europe’s Dirty Secret: Why the EU Emissions Trading Scheme isn’t working
09.08.07
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A new report from Open Europe argues that the first phase of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) was a failure, and the second phase (which begins in 2008) will see important new problems emerging. It notes that the ETS is unlikely to reduce emissions or spur low carbon investment, as the scheme will be heavily reliant on the 'import' of vast numbers of what are essentially carbon offsets from developing countries, rather than enforcing real reductions in emissions in Europe. It argues that these offsets are often not reducing emissions, and in some cases are even subsidising polluters. Read the report “ Europe’s Dirty Secret: Why the EU Emissions Trading Scheme isn’t working ” |
Home Information Packs: expensive and inneffective
16.05.07
A new study on Home Information Packs (HIPs) from Open Europe argues that the costs of the packs will be greater than the Government has admitted, and the benefits far smaller.
HIPs are being introduced mainly to comply with an EU directive from 2002 which requires all homes to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The study by Open Europe reveals that the cost of the EPCs to UK households will now be around £337 million a year rather than the £112 million predicted in the Government’s Regulatory Impact Assessment. By 2020, EPCs will have cost the UK £4.7 billion.
The study also calculates that over 12 million tonnes of carbon could be saved every year if the money being spent on EPCs were spent instead on real emissions reducing investments.
Read the pamphlet “ Home Information Packs: expensive and inneffective ”
Keeping the home fires burning? The Energy Plan for Europe and Britain's energy security
21.07.06
In a pamphlet for Open Europe Wayne Ives from Civitas looks at the EU’s Energy Plan for Europe (EPE). With energy security high on the agenda of European governments, the plan aims to create a common European energy strategy encompassing areas such as market liberalisation, diversification of supply, interconnection between EU states, environmental commitments and plans for technological innovation.
This initiative has won broad support from many commentators, but, while the EU may require a common approach to energy policy, signing up to the EPE would not be in Britain’s interests, neither for industry nor consumers.
Read the pamphlet “Keeping the home fires burning? The Energy Plan for Europe and Britain's energy security”
The high price of hot air: Why the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is an environmental and economic failure
02.07.06
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In a new pamphlet Open Europe looks at the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. In its first year of operation, the scheme has raised serious questions about its organisation and effectiveness in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The UK has set a tough target, while other member states have set very loose targets. This means that the ETS will cost UK firms about £1.5 billion over the first three years, while firms in Germany will make just under a billion selling off their surplus permits. Read the pamphlet “The high price of hot air: Why the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is an environmental and economic failure” |
Polling and public opinion
New ComRes poll: 69% of managers at UK finance firms support a British veto on EU financial services rules
14.12.11
Open Europe has published a new ComRes opinion poll – the first poll to survey managers from UK financial services firms on the reshape of UK's relations with the EU – which finds that seven in ten (69%) financial services professionals support the UK having a veto on future EU financial services regulation even if that risks reducing business opportunities in European markets through decreased access to the single market.
500 financial services professionals were polled between 28 November and 7 December, before the EU summit where David Cameron vetoed an EU Treaty change after other leaders refused to insert safeguards on the single market and financial services.
The poll also finds that 62% of respondents expect the costs of EU regulation to outweigh the benefits of the single market over the next five years. 48% of respondents said that they would consider re-locating some of their activities to outside the EU if an EU-wide financial transactions tax were introduced.
To read a summary of the poll results Click here.
To read Open Europe's press release click here.
Irish voters strongly against a second referendum
27.07.08
The Irish people have rejected the revived EU Constitution. But EU leaders are continuing ratification of the Lisbon Treaty regardless, in an attempt to isolate and bully the Irish.
Open Europe has released a new poll showing that almost three quarters of Irish voters are opposed to the idea of a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty. The poll also shows that many more people would vote No than in the first vote on the Treaty. To read the press release, click here.
Open Europe has also released a briefing note on the Irish No vote, available here.
Scottish voters back referendum in Scotland
23.10.07
A new ICM poll for Open Europe finds that 77% of Scottish voters are in favour of a referendum on the revised EU Constitution. It also finds a big majority in favour of the Scottish Parliament calling a referendum in Scotland if the Government in Westminster refuses to allow one for the UK. Overall 70% would back a Scottish vote, with only 25% against. 91% of SNP voters backed a Scottish vote, compared to 65% of Labour voters and 70% of Conservatives.
Read the full presentation of our results here
Refusing a referendum will hurt Brown in the polls
21.06.07
An ICM poll for Open Europe has found that 86% of UK voters want a referendum. 83% of Labour voters want a vote to be held on the text, as do 88% of Lib-Dem and Tory voters. 88% of trade union members want a referendum.
43% of Labour voters say they will be “definitely less likely” to vote for Brown if he does not hold a referendum.
65% of voters said that they would vote against a new treaty giving power to the EU. Labour voters are also roughly two-to-one against the new treaty, with 58% saying they would vote against it, and 33% in favour.
Read the full presentation of our results here
Public attitudes to the EU
23.03.07
Open Europe has published the first independent poll on the future of the European Union to be carried out in all 27 EU member states.
The poll finds that 75% of people in the EU want a referendum on any new treaty which gives more powers to the EU. In the UK, 83% would want a vote to be held. A majority in all 27 countries would want a referendum.
Across the EU as a whole, 28% think the EU should have more powers than it has now and that more decisions should be taken at the European level. 23% think the EU should keep the powers it has now, but should not be given any more. 41% think the EU should have less powers than it has now and that more decisions should be taken at a national or local level.
Read the full presentation of our results here
Business attitudes to the EU
22.09.06
An ICM poll of UK chief executives conducted for Open Europe has found that 54% of businesses feel that the costs of EU regulation outweigh the benefits of the Single Market.
There is also a perception that the regulatory burden is rising - 59% think the burden of EU regulation is increasing, 35% think it is staying the same and just 4% think it is decreasing. This is even more pronounced among the largest businesses, 70% of whom believe that regulation is increasing.
Business thinks the EU is “failing.” 52% agreed with the statement that “The EU is failing. Britain will be more prosperous and secure if we keep the Pound and take back powers from the EU”. Just 36% agreed with the statement that “The EU is a success. Britain will be more prosperous and secure if we join the Euro and give more powers to the EU”.
Read the full presentation of our results here
Justice, home affairs and migration
Prisoners’ right to vote: the blurred line between the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Union
08.02.11
Open Europe has published a briefing highlighting how human rights law is now locked in at the European level in two separate, but linked, forms: the European Court of Human Rights and the European Union. It argues that even if the UK were to withdraw from the ECHR, it would still leave a huge number of human rights cemented at the EU level. This is because the EU itself has a catalogue of justiciable rights and is also set to join the ECHR as a separate entity in the future.
If the UK Government wants to avoid potential conflicts between national law and European human rights law – including on prisoners’ voting rights – it would therefore have to seek strong carve outs from both the ECHR and the EU’s own catalogue of human rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Open Europe's report is available here.
To read the press release click here.
MPs hold the key to tightening the Government’s EU ‘referendum lock’
19.01.11
Open Europe has published a briefing identifying the loopholes in the Government’s European Union Bill and ‘referendum lock’.
The referendum lock has come under criticism, but with some important amendments the lock would not only grant people a say on any future treaties through referenda but also radically bolster Parliament’s control over new EU laws in some key areas. This would be a major step forward.
Hugely sensitive issues such as policing, crime, justice and immigration – where the EU has gained substantial new powers under the Lisbon Treaty – are in particular need of stronger democratic checks.
This would, for the first time, give Parliament, and voters, a real democratic check on the extension of the EU's powers and undo some of the damage done to national democracy caused by the Lisbon Treaty.
Open Europe's report is available here.
To read the press release click here.
How to use the referendum lock to get a grip on EU asylum, immigration, crime and policing laws
01.12.10
Open Europe has published a new briefing calling for the Government's proposed EU referendum lock, contained in the European Union Bill, to be tightened up, requiring Ministers to seek the approval of Parliament before signing up to any EU laws in justice and home affairs. As it currently stands, the Government's proposed Bill is a missed opportunity to improve democratic control over the day-to-day transfer of crime, policing and immigration powers from the UK to the EU.
Justice and home affairs is the area in which the EU gains the most new powers under the Lisbon Treaty, with European judges being granted the final say over these laws.
However, through a series of simple amendments to the Government's proposed Bill outlined in Open Europe's paper, the Government could be required to seek Parliamentary approval before signing up to EU justice and home affairs laws. In some additional cases the Government would require the support of a referendum.
This would, for the first time, give Parliament, and voters, a real democratic check on the extension of the EU's powers and undo some of the damage done to national democracy caused by the Lisbon Treaty.
Open Europe's report is available here.
To read the press release click here.
How the EU is watching you: the rise of Europe's surveillance state
26.10.09
New research from Open Europe warns that the Lisbon Treaty will help accelerate moves towards an EU surveillance state.
As well as measures on asylum and immigration policy, EU ministers and the European Commission are currently negotiating a raft of controversial new proposals, which are set to radically increase the EU’s role in policing, criminal, and security matters. EU leaders hope to reach formal agreement on many controversial new initiatives by the end of the year.
The UK Government’s claim that under Lisbon the UK will maintain independence and can ‘pick and choose’ which justice and home affairs policies it opts into is a smokescreen. In practice, the UK has often been a key driver of policy, and has in some instances even exported domestic initiatives to the rest of the EU, particularly those that increase the power of the state over the individual.
Open Europe's report is available here.
EU strengthens trials in absentia - Framework Decision could lead to miscarriages of justice
03.09.08
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On 6 June 2008 EU Ministers of Justice reached an agreement on rules that would enable judgments reached in trials in absentia to be recognised across the EU. The proposal would make it compulsory to hand over people who have been tried in their absence, perhaps without even knowing they were being tried. This would be a big change in the UK. Open Europe's briefing argues that the proposal could open the door to serious miscarriages of justice. Open Europe's briefing note is available here. |
A bridge too far? Giving up the veto on crime, justice and policing
21.09.06
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In a new pamphlet, Open Europe discusses the implications of proposals to give up national vetos on justice and home affairs. The Foreign Office has argued that Britain’s so-called “opt-in” arrangements in this area are effectively like a “second veto”. Based on interviews with experts in European law, including the Government’s own legal representative, we find that the FCO’s claim that the ‘opt in’ is ‘as good as a veto’ does not stack up. Read the pamphlet “A bridge too far? Giving up the veto on justice and policing” |
Migration from Bulgaria and Romania: Lessons from the most recent enlargement
22.08.06
A new briefing note released by Open Europe today argues that the UK should allow free movement of workers from Bulgaria and Romania – but that the UK must repeal the EU legislation which limits the government’s ability to control the movement of criminals and the rights of non-workers to access benefits.
We project that if the current policies remain in place then the UK should expect around 450,000 people from Romania and around 170,000 people from Bulgaria to come to the UK to work over the first two years after their accession. Making a success of such a large movement of people will require a new and better system than the Government’s current Worker Registration Scheme.
Read the pamphlet “Migration from Bulgaria and Romania: Lessons from the most recent enlargement”
Giving up the veto over home affairs- will it threaten the UK's legal system?
14.06.06
In a new briefing, Open Europe looks at how the proposal to abolish the veto over criminal justice and police co-operation would increase the powers of the ECJ and EU Commission. The House of Lords has warned that if EU proposals for criminal justice harmonisation are passed it could lead to the "incremental unification of criminal procedure throughout the EU."
The Government has previously argued that an extension of majority voting over criminal procedural law "could change fundamental principles of our legal system, such as habeas corpus, which we are nor prepared to accept". But the Government is now "considering" an idea that would do just that.
Read the briefing note “will giving up the UK's veto over Home Affairs threaten the UK's legal system?”
The EU Free Movement Directive: "less control over crime, borders, and social security"
04.05.06
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Open Europe has released a new pamphlet on the implications of the EU Free Movement Directive. The directive – which was agreed in 2004 - will have serious implications for the UK’s ability to control its borders, social security and crime. Crucially the UK was overruled at a number of key points during the drawing up of the directive. Read the report “The EU Free Movement Directive: "less control over crime, borders, and social security"” |
Economic reform
Why EU taxes will not work
19.08.11
Open Europe has published a briefing examining ten of the options for introducing EU taxes, setting out the economic and practical reasons why none of them would work in reality.
The report estimates that a financial transaction tax could cost financial markets across the EU between €24.3bn and €80.9bn, with the UK financial markets absorbing between €17.5bn and €58.2bn (£15bn and £49.9bn) of that cost, using the Commission’s rate of 0.1% for bonds and shares and 0.01% for derivatives and without a burden-sharing system. A large part of these costs would be passed on to consumers.
Download the report “Why EU taxes will not work”
Commission proposal for the EU budget post-2013: the good, the bad and the ugly
30.06.11
The European Commission has unveiled its proposals for the next multi-annual budget, set to run between 2014 and 2020. In its proposal, the Commission envisions a 5% increase to the budget above inflation, as well as an additional €58.3bn outside the formal budget, which takes the overall increase of EU expenditure to at least 7%.
Open Europe argues that while the proposal does contain some potential improvements – such as stronger conditionality attached to the disbursement of EU funds – far too much money remains earmarked for agriculture and inefficient “cohesion” funds in richer member states; while not enough is allocated to areas such as research & development.
The Commission also proposes a direct EU Value Added Tax and an EU financial transaction tax to fund the EU budget. Such taxes would have no democratic legitimacy and would be impractical methods of funding the EU – particularly a financial transaction tax.
Download the report “Commission proposal for the EU budget post-2013: the good, the bad and the ugly”
Another 50 examples of EU waste
10.11.10
Ahead of a likely agreement on an increase to the 2011 EU budget tomorrow, Open Europe has produced a list of 50 new examples of 'EU waste'. The list is by no means comprehensive, but designed to show the types of peculiar projects on which the EU has spent money in the past. They give a light-hearted illustration of what is wrong with the EU budget, and the need for fundamental reform.
Despite its inherent flaws and the absence of any substantial reform of how or where the money is spent, the EU budget continues to rise year on year.
This year, Open Europe has also published a handful of examples of good spending, illustrating that when the EU does focus its attention on where it really adds value, good things can happen.
Read Open Europe's “Another 50 examples of EU waste”
Fifty ways to waste your money
09.11.09
The EU's accountants – the European Court of Auditors (ECA) – have refused to give the EU’s accounts a clean bill of health for the 15th year in a row, owing to fraud and mismanagement in the budget. Like last year, the auditors did sign off the Commission’s own accounts, saying that they accurately represented how much money was raised and spent.
However, the most important issue is the fact that the EU budget is hugely wasteful and irrational in terms of what the money is actually spent on, and where the money is spent.
The sheer size and complexity of the EU's agricultural and regional spending means the EU's budget is wide open to waste and mismanagement.To illustrate this, Open Europe has produced a list of 50 new examples of EU waste designed to show the types of peculiar projects on which EU money is being wasted.
Read Open Europe's “50 new examples of EU waste”
100 examples of EU fraud and waste
09.11.08
The EU budget is now worth on average around 123bn euros (£100bn) a year, into which the UK pays more than £10bn a year. This means that UK taxpayers contribute around 10% of the total EU budget.
The budget is dominated by two failing policies which even the current UK Government is essentially opposed to: the Common Agricultural Policy, and the so-called Structural Funds. The sheer size and complexity of these two top-down spending programmes means the EU's budget is wide open to fraud.But even aside from the fraud - as serious as that is - the EU budget is hugely wasteful and irrational in terms of what the money is actually spent on, and where the money is spent.
To illustrate this, Open Europe has produced a 'Top 100' list of some of the more remarkable examples of EU fraud and waste. It is not comprehensive, but designed to show the types of projects on which EU money has been wasted in the past.
Download the briefing “100 examples of EU fraud and waste”
EU regional policy failing
21.12.07
Open Europe has published an in-depth report on the EU's Structural and Cohesion Funds (SCF). The SCF are worth a significant sum of money - £7.2 billion will be spent in the UK over the current funding period (2007-2013). The report argues that much of this money will be wasted, because of the EU's failing approach.
Undertaking the most detailed analysis to date, we find that as little as 10% of the funds are spent in the poorest fifth of areas. The report also notes that the highly bureaucratic way in which the funds are administered by the EU leads to huge administrative costs. Simply running the funds costs the UK £670 million a year. Because of EU rules which say that regional authorities must spend money or lose it, the focus is very much on "getting the money out of the door". This and other factors lead to the commissioning of wasteful projects which do not boost growth or employment.
Download the report “Why the EU should not run regional policy”
UK contribution to EU budget rises to £71 billion
16.11.07
Open Europe finds that under the 2007-13 Financial Perspective the UK’s contribution, after the reduced rebate, will be £10.2 billion a year. Britain’s total gross contribution for the period is £71 billion. Britain will receive only €770 per person in EU spending - the lowest of any member state. To put the scale of expenditure into context, this money could alternatively be used to cut council tax by nearly 50%, employ an extra 320,000 nurses each year or pay the total bill for the London Olympics in less than one year.
Open Europe argues that the EU budget is a prime example of the failure of the EU to reform. It is irrational both in terms of what the money is spent on and also in terms of where the money is spent and raised.
Read the briefing note “here”
Beyond the European Social Model
29.03.06
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Open Europe has released a new book of essays by leading thinkers from across the EU. Beyond the European Social Model argues that the high-tax and highly regulated “social model” is not working, and that the time has come for the EU and its member states to take a different approach. The authors look at both success stories and failures from around Europe and paint a picture of how reforms might work. Read the full book “Beyond the Social Model” To read individual chapters please click here |
EU budget: bad for Britain, bad for Europe
20.12.05
EU heads of state and government have reached agreement on the EU budget for the period 2007-2013. Under the new deal Britain will give up £6.8 billion of its rebate. This means that the UK will pay £6 billion a year more into the EU than it receives back - an increase of two thirds. The deal represents a historic missed opportunity for the UK, as Tony Blair has agreed to give up a large part of the budget in return for nothing more than vague commitments to review EU spending in 2008. The EU budget will continue unreformed, with no change to the CAP, and Britain will get back less in EU spending than any other member state.
The EU budget is unfair because there is almost no link between spending and need, and ineffective because the EU continues to waste money on farm subsidies and failing “structural” policies which do nothing to prepare the EU economy for the 21st century.
Read the briefing note “The EU budget: a historic missed opportunity”
Government giving way on EU budget?
8.11.05
On 7 November EU budget discussions ended without resolution but the UK Government hinted that it was preparing to increase the amount it pays in to the EU’s budget.
Jack Straw said that the Government is now negotiating the size of the increase in UK contributions to the EU, not whether there should be an increase. It has been suggested that a likely deal might involve leaving the rebate formally unchanged but increasing the UK’s net contribution through other channels. Even under the existing rules, the UK expects to pay £155 billion more into the budget than it receives back.
Read the briefing note “EU budget/ rebate briefing”
Monetary union and the euro
EU banks could need up to €370bn in event of painful, but necessary eurozone debt restructuring
19.10.11
Open Europe has published a new briefing looking at the short-term options available to the eurozone for tackling the most immediate crisis.
The briefing argues that Greece should default on 60% of its debt through a managed restructuring, and that the planned second Greek bailout should be scrapped altogether, replaced by a limited transition fund designed to control the default. Portugal should simultaneously take a 25% write-down on its debt.
Alarmingly, however, Open Europe estimates that, to withstand a Greek and Portuguese default (combined with marking Irish, Italian and Spanish debt to market prices) the EU banking system would need to be recapitalised by between €260bn and €372bn.
To read Open Europe's briefing, click here.
To read the press release, click here.
What will the German Constitutional Court ruling mean for the eurozone crisis?
05.09.11
Open Europe has published a briefing looking at the forthcoming German Constitutional Court ruling on the legality of the eurozone bail-outs (which is expected on 7 September), and setting out what the ruling could mean for the future of the single currency.
The briefing notes that, although the Court will almost certainly approve the bail-outs, it could well demand more influence for the German parliament and lay down additional constitutional red lines in return for approving the bail-outs.
Click here to read Open Europe's briefing.
Click here to read the press release.
Abandon Ship: Time to stop bailing out Greece?
21.06.11
With EU leaders scrambling to come up with a solution to the raging Greek and eurozone debt crisis, Open Europe has published a briefing arguing that a second Greek bail-out package would only increase the political and economic cost of the crisis, without providing any real solutions. Considering Greece’s poor growth prospects and increasing debt burden, the country is likely to default within the next few years, even if it gets some breathing space through a second bail-out. EU leaders should instead be planning for how such a default could be managed in as orderly a manner possible.
Crucially, the cost of a Greek default to the European economy will only increase with time. Most importantly, via the bail-outs, so-called official sector (taxpayer-backed) loans are gradually replacing private sector loans. We estimate that today each household in the eurozone underwrites €535 in Greek debt (through loan guarantees). However, by 2014 and following a second bailout, this will have increased to a staggering €1,450 per household. The cost to European taxpayers of what looks like an inevitable Greek default will therefore increase radically in the next few years, making a second bail-out far more contentious than any of the previous eurozone rescue packages.
Click here to read Open Europe's briefing.
Click here to read the press release.
A house built on sand? The ECB and the hidden cost of saving the euro
06.06.11
Open Europe has published a new briefing detailing how the eurozone crisis could drive the European Central Bank itself into insolvency, with taxpayers likely to pick up a big chunk of the bill.
We estimate that the ECB has exposure to struggling eurozone economies (the so-called PIIGS) of around €444bn – an amount roughly equivalent to the GDP of Finland and Austria combined. Of this, around €190bn is exposure to the Greek state and Greek banks. Should the ECB see the value of its assets fall by just 4.25%, which is no longer a remote risk, its entire capital base would be wiped out.
To read Open Europe's briefing click here.
To read the press release click here.
Stopping the rot? The cost of a Portuguese bail-out and why it is better to restructure
24.03.11
Open Europe has published a briefing arguing that Portugal looks set to be the next country to apply for a bail-out from the EU and the IMF. Open Europe estimates that the total UK liability under a €80 billion bail-out package for Portugal could range between €1.1 billion and €4.9 billion, depending on the structure of the loan.
However, the briefing argues that a bail-out is unlikely to solve any of Portugal’s fundamental problems and that it would be cheaper for the country to move straight to debt restructuring, combined with a limited cash injection from the EU and IMF.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
EU proposal for a Greek restructuring will not end Greece’s or eurozone’s problems
02.02.11
Open Europe has published a briefing looking at the debt problems of Greece, which continue to haunt the Single Currency. Although the markets are easing the pressure on the euro, Open Europe argues that Greece is unlikely to make it through this year without debt restructuring or additional outside help.
However, the proposal for a Greek restructuring being discussed by EU leaders will not solve Greece’s debt problems or its lack of economic competitiveness. Radically stronger measures are needed.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
What will the Irish bailout solve?
22.11.10
The Irish government has announced that it will seek a bail-out from the EU and the IMF amid concerns over Ireland's banks and public finances.
Open Europe has published a briefing looking at the different bail-out options on the table, arguing that none of them will solve the fundamental problems of either Ireland or the eurozone as a whole - although they can buy Ireland valuable time.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
The rise of the EU's economic government
16.06.10
Open Europe has published a briefing outlining recent developments and moves towards what French President Nicolas Sarkozy has labelled an economic government for the EU.
The eurozone is now a de facto debt union, with its members taking on the liabilities of each others' sovereign debts and with the European Central Bank financing states through its purchases of government bonds.
Some European leaders now want to go even further and use the economic crisis to form an EU economic government by stealth.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
They said it: How the EU elite got it wrong on the euro
26.05.10
The sovereign debt crisis that started with Greece now casts a long shadow over the entire eurozone, and indeed Europe as a whole.
It’s in everyone’s interest for the eurozone to return to stability. However, moving forward, we must also ask: how did we end up in this mess? Politicians, after all, reassured us this was never going to happen.
Open Europe has published some of the promises that the EU elite made over the last 15 years, highlighting that the politicians who sold their citizens the euro failed to either grasp or tell the whole truth about the single currency.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
A Greek bailout: is it legally possible and what will it cost EU taxpayers?
10.02.10
As EU leaders gather in Brussels to discuss the crisis facing the eurozone, Open Europe has published an overview of the ways in which Greece could be bailed out by the EU and what these solutions could cost European taxpayers.
Open Europe argues that an EU-led bailout will come with huge economic and political risks, and will for the first time make Europe’s taxpayers fully liable for an individual country’s debts, while centralising new economic powers at the EU-level.
To read Open Europe's report click here.
To read the press release click here.
In a separate paper Open Europe estimates the potential costs arising from a bailout plan devised from each member state's share in the European Central Bank.
To read the briefing click here.
