Thursday September 13,2012


More than half of Britons believe the EU is having a negative impact on Britain's economy

MORE Britons than ever before believe EU membership is bad for the country and that it is having a negative effect on the economy, according to a new report.
An annual analysis of transatlantic trends by the America-based German Marshall Fund has revealed that 60 per cent of people in Britain believe EU membership has had a negative effect on the economy.

According to the research, which focuses on the 12 main nations within the EU, including Germany, Italy, Spain and France, anti-EU sentiment in Britain over the past year is visibly on the rise.

The number of British respondents with an unfavourable view of the EU had risen 14 percentage points over the past year to 49 per cent.

The effect of the euro is also seen as a bad thing with 89 per cent believing so.

According to the research, Britons are not alone with their concerns as more than half of the Spanish (57 per cent), the Portuguese (55 per cent), the French (52 per cent), and the Italians (51per cent) believe the euro had been a negative thing for their economies.

Even in strong eurocratic countries like Germany, there was a high dissatisfaction rating as 58 per cent said they were unhappy with the euro.

Britons have become increasingly skeptical of the EU over the past year and have become weary of its intervention.

73 per cent of Britons said the economic crisis had affected them personally while 58 per cent disapproved of the government’s handling of economic policies surrounding the EU, a rate close to that of some of Europe’s most troubled economies

The U.K. was one of two European countries where majorities disapproved of their country making a contribution to the European bailout fund - the other being Slovakia.

It was also the country where respondents insisted most strongly on retaining full control over the national budget (79 per cent).

Craig Kennedy President, German Marshall Fund of the United States said: "The decade reflected by our polls has been a tumultuous one for both Europe and the United States, one that has been marred by a marked divide between the two sides of the Atlantic about the U.S. intervention in Iraq, the alliance’s role in Afghanistan, and the global economic crisis.

The figures follow controversial comments made by President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso who claimed the nations of the EU should undergo further integration.

He claimed that the EU should develop a European superstate with its own military.

Barroso said the EU needs to "move toward a federation of nation states" that involves shared sovereignty, drawing a distinction between that and a "superstate."

"Pooled sovereignty means more power, not less," he argued.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/345797/Tide-is-turning-More-Britons-than-ever-before-believe-EU-is-bad-for-UK