3 ms·

Well yes, outstanding bills should be paid. But I don't think the UK has been leaching, in fact the UK has been a net contributor to the EU for a long period of

by pc256 10y ago

Well yes, outstanding bills should be paid. But I don't think the UK has been leaching, in fact the UK has been a net contributor to the EU for a long period of time [1]. As we are leaving the EU will we in some way get to reclaim some of the assets paid for over the period of time? Do we get the roof of the parliament in Strasbourg? Until we've actually left, we are bound by the rules of the EU which may include this. And given the current alignment of rules I wouldn't imagine it would be a huge burden. Once we've left, well paying associated costs may be a sensible thing to do, but that's for us to decide! [1] https://fullfact.org/europe/our-eu-membership-fee-55-million/ https://fullfact.org/europe/our-eu-membership-fee-55-million...

gonvaled 10y ago
> in fact the UK has been a net contributor to the EU for a long period of time Your membership fee was lower (per-capita, per-GDP) than other countries. That membership fee has bought you services, the same services that other countries have been enjoying, and paying at a premium compared to the UK. The UK has been a member of the EU by its own decision for over 30 years. Nothing to complain about there. On the other hand, EU members which have been paying premium membership price should very seriously consider adding to the exit bill whatever rebates have been granted to the UK during all these years. > As we are leaving the EU will we in some way get to reclaim some of the assets paid for over the period of time? Do we get the roof of the parliament in Strasbourg? When I am renting an apartment, and I need to pay for something that needs repair, I do not ask for money back whenever I leave. There may be some assets that you have a right to claim a stake in, though. There are also some open bills. That is a matter of exit negotiations. By the way, who is paying for the financial burden that the negotiations themselves are going to put in the EU? I hope that is also a matter of negotiations, and since it is a UK decision to leave (which we respect), the UK must contribute specially to those costs. > And given the current alignment of rules I wouldn't imagine it would be a huge burden 1. Since there will not be automatic law alignment, we can not guarantee this long-term 2. There won't be a framework to enforce this, since the EU will have no jurisdiction in the UK, and vice versa. Creating a third-party enforcement framework seems too big of a burden. > Once we've left, well paying associated costs may be a sensible thing to do, but that's for us to decide! For you ... and for the EU. As said, I do not think it is in the interest of the EU to deal with issues at these level of detail with each potential partner. We already deal with this at the EU level, put it in to law, and let the common EU enforcement mechanisms do the management. No need to duplicate this structure for each partner and each scheme that our partners would like to enjoy. A better solution, discussed at length, would be to negotiate access to the EU market (which includes these kind of schemes) with the UK. But this has already been ruled out by Theresa May, since it assumes acceptance of the four freedoms.
- programmernews3 10y ago
  Excluding Germany, Britain’s contribution is more than the total net contribution of the 26 other EU states combined. https://i1.wp.com/order-order.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/eu-£250-miillion.png https://i1.wp.com/order-order.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01...
  - gonvaled 10y ago
    A bit more context would be helpful for such a complex issue. That's for 2015. Total? What about per-capita? What about per-GDP? Are you expecting Malta to contribute more than the UK?
    - programmernews3 10y ago
      Well one way to look at it is that the other 27 countries will have to increase their contributions just to break even, or reduce spending.
      - NetStrikeForce 10y ago
        Well, the UK has massively benefited from its EU membership. I don't think we'll have that much money around after we leave, our trade will take a hit, our companies will have less access to EU talent (which is massively needed in IT at least), so we will be less competitive. I do think all that extra money we paid in the EU was easily recovered. It's going to be ironic when we have less money around than before paying into the EU :(
    - pc256 10y ago
      I think they were referring to net contributions - Malta is a massive net recipient per capita (https://inews.co.uk/explainers/charts/much-uk-pays-eu-much-get-back/ https://inews.co.uk/explainers/charts/much-uk-pays-eu-much-g...)
      - gonvaled 10y ago

by pc256 10y ago

gonvaled 10y ago

> in fact the UK has been a net contributor to the EU for a long period of time Your membership fee was lower (per-capita, per-GDP) than other countries. That membership fee has bought you services, the same services that other countries have been enjoying, and paying at a premium compared to the UK. The UK has been a member of the EU by its own decision for over 30 years. Nothing to complain about there. On the other hand, EU members which have been paying premium membership price should very seriously consider adding to the exit bill whatever rebates have been granted to the UK during all these years. > As we are leaving the EU will we in some way get to reclaim some of the assets paid for over the period of time? Do we get the roof of the parliament in Strasbourg? When I am renting an apartment, and I need to pay for something that needs repair, I do not ask for money back whenever I leave. There may be some assets that you have a right to claim a stake in, though. There are also some open bills. That is a matter of exit negotiations. By the way, who is paying for the financial burden that the negotiations themselves are going to put in the EU? I hope that is also a matter of negotiations, and since it is a UK decision to leave (which we respect), the UK must contribute specially to those costs. > And given the current alignment of rules I wouldn't imagine it would be a huge burden 1. Since there will not be automatic law alignment, we can not guarantee this long-term 2. There won't be a framework to enforce this, since the EU will have no jurisdiction in the UK, and vice versa. Creating a third-party enforcement framework seems too big of a burden. > Once we've left, well paying associated costs may be a sensible thing to do, but that's for us to decide! For you ... and for the EU. As said, I do not think it is in the interest of the EU to deal with issues at these level of detail with each potential partner. We already deal with this at the EU level, put it in to law, and let the common EU enforcement mechanisms do the management. No need to duplicate this structure for each partner and each scheme that our partners would like to enjoy. A better solution, discussed at length, would be to negotiate access to the EU market (which includes these kind of schemes) with the UK. But this has already been ruled out by Theresa May, since it assumes acceptance of the four freedoms.

programmernews3 10y ago
Excluding Germany, Britain’s contribution is more than the total net contribution of the 26 other EU states combined. https://i1.wp.com/order-order.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/eu-£250-miillion.png https://i1.wp.com/order-order.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01...
- gonvaled 10y ago
  A bit more context would be helpful for such a complex issue. That's for 2015. Total? What about per-capita? What about per-GDP? Are you expecting Malta to contribute more than the UK?
  - programmernews3 10y ago
    Well one way to look at it is that the other 27 countries will have to increase their contributions just to break even, or reduce spending.
    - NetStrikeForce 10y ago
      Well, the UK has massively benefited from its EU membership. I don't think we'll have that much money around after we leave, our trade will take a hit, our companies will have less access to EU talent (which is massively needed in IT at least), so we will be less competitive. I do think all that extra money we paid in the EU was easily recovered. It's going to be ironic when we have less money around than before paying into the EU :(
  - pc256 10y ago
    I think they were referring to net contributions - Malta is a massive net recipient per capita (https://inews.co.uk/explainers/charts/much-uk-pays-eu-much-get-back/ https://inews.co.uk/explainers/charts/much-uk-pays-eu-much-g...)
    - gonvaled 10y ago