We've recalculated your bill. That'll be an extra 2.1 billion please

The thought had crossed my mind also [it didn’t take long ;) ].

Apparently Italy also owe some money.

Good luck with that chaps.

Will that be due to the resounding success of their booming economy too?

Tidyup bill for the pan-European Bunga-bunga tour.

binners – Member

Will that be due to the resounding success of their booming economy too?

You couldn’t make it up …

It appears that only Italy’s booming organised crime sector has been able to lift the country’s moribund economy out of recession.

Accounting changes across the EU have seen key illegal economic activities such as prostitution and drug trafficking included in a country’s official GDP measure.

As a result, Italy’s economy was said to have risen slightly from a 0.1 per cent decline for the first quarter of 2014 to a flat reading, the National Institute for Statistics, Istat, said.

even as a fan of the EU this is sitting laughing with your head in your hands time.
Its beyond parody

As per @somewhats’s and @monkey’s posts it seems it was the coke and hookers :D

Eurostat arrived at the €2.1bn figure on the basis of new methods of calculating member states’ GNI since 1995, taking account of previously unreported or under-reported black economy elements, such as drug dealing and consumption or the sex industry.

Accounting changes across the EU have seen key illegal economic activities such as prostitution and drug trafficking included in a country’s official GDP measure.

Its April 1st surely?

So its the bankers again. I’ve seen wolf on wall street.

It’s a something out of nothing story. The calculation was based on forecasts. Those forecasts have turned out to be a bit pessimistic and we’ve had far better growth than we said we would therefore we owe more money.

The bit I don’t understand is that if the ‘rules’ are known by all then the UK Govt (and presumably the others too) would calculate this on an on-going basis anyway to make sure that they paid in the right amount. I can’t imagine that they rely on been sent a bill.

They’d run forecasts etc and should know exactly what the bill will be for any given forecast, and if it relies upon other countries economies too – then add them into the model.

Also in the story is this small sentance…

The UK has received rebates in the past as a result of this process.

Non-story: the revision. It’s how these things work (albeit with a complex and opaque process)
Story: why the EU cannot tell a straight story and communicate effectively

So guys, tell us, is this simply a surcharge to reflect a change in accounting rules or not.Yes, no, yes is not helpful.

Accounting changes are a 2016 story surely?

Not sure there is much CMD can do here. Manna from heaven for UKIP though. I wonder if Farage has attended enough meeting to understand how the EU budget works?

CMD “will not pay” may come back to haunt him.

Dave has come up with some proposals

He’s got a point binners, the freebie shower gel is MUCH better in germany

footflaps said:
You do know we agreed to all this when we joined….

What we agreed to join was the Common Market, its primary aim was to make trading easier with the other 5 members.
No mention of the laughingly entitled ‘human rights’ legislation or any other of the ludicrous socialist policies imposed upon us. No mention of paying vast sums to poor countries that their population might come and burden us with their presence, a burden born by we the UK tax payer.

This latest demand is simply a ploy to avoid the promised UK referendum*. Didn’t Bliar and Brown promise such a thing ? Even they realised that the EU needs us far more than we need it, so no referendum.
HTF does bankrupt Greece need to contribute more? Oh I know ‘lend’ them yet more money to write-off at some point in the future – only the EU could make that one up .

* That ploy looks like a huge gamble because the undecided have already leapt off the fence to vote ‘yes we leave ASAP’.

Sounds like a UKIP manifesto!

Funny how the things we did sign up to – free movement of people, capital, goods, services etc – seem to create so much aggravation!

<Cynical>

Perhaps a deal behind the scenes, EU agreed to announce this and then back down, allowing Dave to look tough and like he’s taking on the EU, thereby keeping us in and preventing a referendum ever really happening.

</Cynical>

No mention of the laughingly entitled ‘human rights’ legislation

The European Convention on Human Rights isn’t anything to do with the EU. It’s a europe wide treaty, even Russia has signed it.

Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good old moan though.

jfletch – Member
No mention of the laughingly entitled ‘human rights’ legislation
The European Convention on Human Rights isn’t anything to do with the EU. It’s a europe wide treaty, even Russia has signed it

Yeah right. And they stick to it eh?

It’s like all the daftest rules, it seems it’s only the UK that actually seems stick to them. It is the same with business grants system – other countries bend the rules (or misappropriate, depending on your view) which is one of the main reasons why the EU has never been able to get a set of audited accounts in its entire history.

did that one up there ^^^^^

ninfan – Member

<Cynical>

Perhaps a deal behind the scenes, EU agreed to announce this and then back down, allowing Dave to look tough and like he’s taking on the EU, thereby keeping us in and preventing a referendum ever really happening.

</Cynical>

I’m not usually a conspiracy theorist, but looking at the BBC headlines, the same thought just crossed my mind. It all seems a little bit too convenient.

somewhatslightlydazed – Member

I’m not usually a conspiracy theorist, but looking at the BBC headlines, the same thought just crossed my mind. It all seems a little bit too convenient.A good wheeze to make the C3PO-shaped, Europhile ham look competant?

Cameron was on on the new saying absolutely no way will this 2.1Bn euro be paid.

Wonder when he’ll quietly u-turn? Ask for it to be paid in June?

I heard him say he would not pay on time not that it wont be paid

Yip – Dave’s sticking it to the EU. And ‘Battling for Britain’ seems to amount to asking for an extension to pay it, while looking really really cross!

binners – Member
Yip – Dave’s sticking it to the EU. And ‘battling for Britain’ seems to amount to asking for an extension to pay it, while looking really really cross constipated.

Fixed that for you.

Nothing he ever says about his opinions on the EU ever rings true for me. I’m afraid my inclination is to believe he is one of the piggies drawn to the EU trough.

Loving Cameron’s faux outrage

Its almost as though its scripted, the treasury knew about it for a while but this email s obviously the right time for Dave to take a stand

As I said on another thread on the subject, Daves a Thatcherite. He loves the EU! No matter what he says when he’s posturing, trying to woo UKIP voters.

His corporate paymasters demand an endless stream of cheap labour to drive wages down. He’s more than happy to oblige. He won’t do a thing about immigration for this reason. Dave represents the interests of the corporate boardrooms in the City. And they like Europe just the way it is, thanks very much.

He just needs to pop over the channel every once in a while and pretend to be really really annoyed, and the whole ridiculous charade continues

seems to amount to asking for an extension to pay it, while looking really really cross!

If you push him he will wag his finger and look really really disapprovingly at you.

Binners is spot on – I am no UKIP supporter but the whole political system in the UK is driven by self interest – I hated Thatcher and what she did to the north east of england (we are mired in her decisions today with no way out) but at least she believed she was trying to improve things – Blair and Cameron are exactly the same (except Dave aspires to be like Tony) we are ruled by wealth takers and not wealth makers – it’s not going to change get used to it – this all goes back to the Norman Conquest (don’t get me started on that one)

Knowing the current political situation in the country and an election next year. It would be a good time to destabilise a country….if thats what someone wants to do.

Despite Dave’s blusyer I suspect the bill will be paid in full and on time, but out of sight of Mr Farage.

What we agreed to join was the Common Market, its primary aim was to make trading easier with the other 5 members.
No mention of the laughingly entitled ‘human rights’ legislation

The Human Rights Act is an act of the UK parliament. It is not EU legislation. Parliament did not have to pass it; it chose to.

The European Convention on Human Rights is nothing to do with the EU, EC, EEC or Common Market.

I heard him say he would not pay on time not that it wont be paid

Glad someone else noticed that.
Taxes going up soon then.

The Treasury where told last week, the Government / PM was told yesterday I believe. Yes Cameron said it would not be paid Dec 1 but he didn’t say it would not be paid.

We should note that the £1.7bn is greater than the amount the Labour Party said they’d increase NHS spending by

It’s seems quite ridiculous that there is a formula for the calculation of this tax which takes into account the black market economy which by its very nature is largely unknown.

On the ECHR its my understanding its a condition of joining the EU that you sign up for it. We do have the right to pass new laws which mean we are not driven by the ECHR precedents. It is these which are the real issue as the law itself is very close to what we already had in place, it’s the case law / precedent which differs. This issue is related to opposition to the EU as its another examle of foreign bodies having a greater authority than UK Parliament and our courts

What’s funny (to me anyway) is we’ve just had a big Scottish referendum thing where we were told over and over that pooling and sharing of resources is a good thing. Isn’t that all this is?

I thought you wanted independence?

It’s like all the daftest rules, it seems it’s only the UK that actually seems stick to them. It is the same with business grants system – other countries bend the rules (or misappropriate, depending on your view) which is one of the main reasons why the EU has never been able to get a set of audited accounts in its entire history.

Contrast this with…

Eurostat arrived at the €2.1bn figure on the basis of new methods of calculating member states’ GNI since 1995, taking account of previously unreported or under-reported black economy elements…

And…

It’s seems quite ridiculous that there is a formula for the calculation of this tax which takes into account the black market economy which by its very nature is largely unknown.

So, if we’re the country that follows the rules, we have no black market…?
Or are we as corrupt and off the books as any other country, we just like to fool ourselves that we’re the honest and all on the books country?

pennyfarthing – Member

No mention of the laughingly entitled ‘human rights’ legislation or any other of the ludicrous socialist policies imposed upon us.

It’s interesting to note that you should consider human rights legislation be “socialist policies”.

It’s also interesting to note that you appear blissfully unaware that conservatives, not socialists, have dominated the EU Parliament ever since it’s been called the EU.

The current makeup :

Although I’m prepared to accept that despite being dominated by Conservatives the EU Parliament still isn’t right-wing enough for some people. UKIP fruitcakes typically see anyone slightly to the left of Thatcher as socialists.

And in a single stroke Ernie made sense of everything. Awesome 8)