Every disaster is an opportunity for the EU

Marta Andreasen, the European Commission's former chief accountant knows more about the workings of the EU than most people. So her article in today's Telegraph is well worth a read if you want to know what the EU is up to:

'At last week's EU summit David Cameron, in his first Brussels outing as the newly-elected Prime Minister, made clear that the UK was not happy at the prospect of having its tax and spending "peer reviewed" by other EU members before it could be put into effect.

But within minutes of the meeting ending, and despite signs that other countries recognised the problem for Britain, the Commission said it would bring forward its proposals just the same, by the end of this month.

...

on Thursday the EU leaders met to discuss the "peer review" plan, which would require all countries to submit annual national Budget details to Brussels before presenting them to their own MPs. The proposal is that from 2011, "in the interests of strengthening budgetary discipline across the EU", member states would have to present their budgetary plans to the Commission each spring, "taking account of national budgetary procedures".

I cannot say I am surprised to see the EU taking the opportunity to increase its powers. Yet it is almost unbelievable that it now demands the power to intervene in our own national budgets when it cannot properly manage its own. One could not make it up.

...

Now picture the situation at budget time. Once a year the EU's Budget Commissioner will sit around the table together with his "expert team" of civil servants - all well paid and with jobs for life - holding 27 booklets containing the draft budgets of all the member states.

They will have no clue about the diverse public sectors of all the different states, but will nonetheless attempt to give opinions on how many staff the Germany defence ministry should employ, or what costs Italian social security should cover for families with a handicapped member, or how many state schools should be closed down in Poland.

Then their recommendations would be passed to the Council of Ministers. A curious meeting would take place at the Justus Lipsius oval room where the Greek finance minister would be able to question the British chancellor about how much he spends on equipment for his troops in Afghanistan, or the Portuguese minister might tell the French that they should reduce their unemployment benefit.

Would this exercise solve the crisis? No. But it is the thin end of the wedge, and a big step further towards economic and political integration which the EU has been seeking since 1950, without our knowledge.'

Not great is it?