The use of
EU funding to tackle domestic poverty issues is highly unfair on the taxpayers
of those few countries that actually make significant contributions to the EU
budget.
In the UK
there is growing resentment towards those member states that are seen as being
‘takers’. It deeply regrettable that the UK, with its great tradition of
helping those less fortunate than itself has a growing resentment about funding
this and that EU project whilst British people are suffering
crippling cut backs at home. No wonder more and more people are turning against
the EU.
Only this
last week the leading philanthropist Bill Gates, a regular visitor to the
European Parliament congratulated the United Kingdom on its remarkable record
in Foreign Aid.
Incidentally,
a record the EU likes to piggy back and take the credit for.
This report
acknowledges that member states should take responsibility for issues of
poverty and social inclusion, and that the Fund for European Aid to the most
Deprived should not be seen as replacing those responsibilities.
But what
message is sent out by the call for an increased budget for the fund in
2014-2020?
Who will
supply the extra money?
The 200,000
British citizens who are dependent on food banks in order to feed their
families?
The growing
army of unemployed youth?
The economic
crisis, largely the fault of the Eurozone, is now so bad that we now have to
say: Charity Begins At Home.
