Expressive dance is an EU luxury we can do without
Apr 2011 18

Expressive dance is an EU luxury we can do without3

Three policy areas are exempt from the Coalition Government’s budget plans to slow down the increase in spending. In addition to the well publicised increases on health spending, the Department for International Development and Britain’s payments to the European Union continue to rise rapidly. In addition to the significant and rising (£5.9 billion last year, £6.7 billion this year and £7.2 billion next) sums Andrew Mitchell hands out to various foreign governments and aid projects, a report by Open Europe has shown the EU also has a £10 billion aid budget all of its own (British share of the bill is £1.4 billion), the Daily Telegraph reports.

So where does the EU spend its 11-figure budget?

Belgian dance teachers were recruited to teach people in Burkina Faso – where half the population lives off less than 70p a day – through a project called “I Dance Therefore I Am”

Turkey receives a cool half a billion, twice as much as Afghanistan, despite being over ten times richer. But Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987 and, despite seemingly implacable French and Greek opposition, is still officially an accession country which, in Brussels, counts as a reason to spend a lot of money. Oppressive and corrupt countries also do well. Malawi too will receive almost half a billion pounds over 5 years despite its president, Bingu Mutharika, having bought an airplane after the most recent donation.

Few people will argue that there are many needy people in desperate situations in some of the countries upon whose corrupt governments the EU is lavishing cash and expressive dance troupes.  But none of this should leave officials feeling smug. Giving away other people’s money isn’t generous. EU bureaucrats should trim back their excesses, leave international aid to national governments & individual charity and abandon their generosity-by-proxy.

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  • John Coulson1527

    the taxpayers alliance is a useless talking shop.Unless you are prepared to take positive action the government and its associate departments will continue to smile and ignore anything you say.Grow up. J Coulson

    • John Smith

      Hi John,

      Have to disagree. I’m not exactly a fan of the TPA, but at least it encourages a debate about how our democracy operates, and doesn’t assume that the average Brit is too stupid to understand. Yes, it’s a talking shop – but I’d argue that we need MORE debate, not less (though I don’t see how much less we could have – there’s virtually no real debate in this country at all)

  • Foundavoice

    John – very funny. Very untrue – the TPA provides plebs like me the information and hard evidence to enable me to take individual action. That is worth its weight in gold.

    So I ask you – what have YOU done to change things?

    Cheers
    FAV