At Get Britain Out, we have long argued that the European Union is completely out of touch. In Brussels today (17 Sep), whilst discussing the EU’s flagship “Youth Unemployment Initiative”, the Eurocrats did nothing to change our mind.
Youth unemployment in Europe is a modern tragedy. One in five young Europeans are unemployed. But that figure also masks great regional disparities – in Spain the figure is one in two, while in Greece close to 60% of young people are jobless.
The response of the Brussels bureaucracy is to allocate a mere €6 billion to alleviating this scourge. It’s bad enough that the EU siphons off vital funds – from already struggling countries – into their bloated budget, but even more of a scandal that this money is not at least spent where it is needed most.
During the plenary session this morning, even some Europhile Members of the European Parliament broke rank. As one of them pointed out, the funding to tackle this chronic problem amounts to merely €220 per jobless youth.
A pitiful amount – made worse when compared to the fact that Brussels recently spent €250 each on iPad Minis for 106 MEPs, as reported by Get Britain Out. Clearly, to the European aristocracy, a free gadget for an MEP is worth more than a job for a young person.
Even the International Labour Organization has warned the EU’s efforts to tackle youth unemployment are excruciatingly underfunded, with a report placing the true cost at €21 billion a year. The burden of this shortfall will undoubtedly fall on near bankrupt Member States.
But it was the Eurocrat’s behaviour that should draw the greatest condemnation. Some MEPs spent their time in the chamber flirting, using official “blue card” questions to organize coffee dates. Others demanded higher minimum wages and even more migration as solutions to the problem.
Martin Schulz, European Parliament President, spent his speech praising the Euro – the cause of such apocalyptic rates of youth unemployment – as an “economic miracle”. Afterwards, the Parliament – in haste to formulate an effective response to this crisis – put their agenda on hold… in order to take a group photo.
The Brussels’ Parliament chamber is full of hot air at the best of time, but with behavior like that, it is increasingly clear that the Europe Union either hasn’t got a clue how to tackle youth unemployment, or simply doesn’t care.
Either way, the Great British Public is sick and tired of funding this circus.
We need politics to be set free from the distorting effects of ideology. The EU has at its heart a socialist ideology that is counter productive to the creation of wealth and jobs.
Privatisation The Post office &Rail in UK is Greed Capitalism old boy..Tripe.
Privatisation does not mean greed. Responsible Capitalism is usually more effective than moribund nationalised industries. That’s why even the Labour party got rid of Clause 4. In your world we would all be eating tripe without the onions.
” Responsible Capitalism” is a myth..Taxpayers pour £6.5bn into British Rail to pay for dividends not infrastructure &directors wages…As for EU Socialism..its was EU directive 97/67/EC that opened Post Office Privatisation,as for Labour getting rid of Clause4 brought us Tony Blair &millions of voters turned off.Lib-Lab-Con-UKIP are all ‘Right of Centre’ relying on halting ‘Mass Migrations’ will just continually Marginalise UKIP…wageshave compressed…Your ‘Responsible Corporations’ dont even pay ‘A living wage’ or pay taxes onshore..the Taxpayers have to makeup ‘Benefits shortfall’..My energy bills Most is ‘Green Tax’ & Standing Charges ..Pure snout greed…UKIP wont take many seats by ignoring Foodbank Britain,End of ‘Full employment’ A generation will Never own their flat,house ‘So Thatcher trickledown effect is a myth..
A rather pessimistic and sad outlook. And your socialist/communist alternative is I suppose better?
It is not Communist..But Keynesian..the idea the cups of Londons oligarchs or 1% ”Super rich” flows to other people is ridiculous myth…500,000 foodbanks & rising 3million at least Will never or cant get on the property ladder including myself…3m+ living with inlaws after marriage no Social housing All sold off when Some should have been.
Stamp duty now 5% of house purchase esp in London and environs.
Yes. Introduced by the Labour party. Totally counter productive because of their stupid ideologies.
So life was better at the height of Keynesian economics? I never advocated “trickle down”. You have made too many wrong assumptions on my posts. Living with in-laws and other relatives is nothing new. Indeed, in the prosperous Germany often up to 3 generations live in one dwelling. In a free market, small state environment people have the freedom to make their own choices – good or bad. In the socialist nanny state model people have their choices limited or become trapped in welfare dependency.
How has Europe allowed this insidious creep to happen? Were we so sick of war after WW2 that 500 million people have allowed an assembly of egotistic maniacs to take over without a shot being fired. They have done what every dictator since the Roman Empire has failed to do and we have let them do it. We have allowed them to pass laws that dominate every thing we do. It is time it stopped. We don’t need the EU for world trade we don’t need the EU for peace all we need is common sense. Come 2015 it is time for a bloodless revolution vote UKIP
Couldn’t agree more. And, yes, it is time to get rid of the circus! 🙁