EU Tory cuts and Labour games.

I must admit I have some sympathy with David Cameron over his call for a freeze in the EU Budget after all if you are making cuts through your own legislator it does seem perverse to agree to another increasing its spending
The trouble with Cameron is that he displays typical "British" arrogance" and simply looks like he appeasing those Tories who really would like the UK to quit the EU and offers no alternative to reforming the way the EU is run.

One simple way of saving Billions is to put the EU Parliament in one place

The provisional arrangements placed Parliament in Strasbourg, while the Commission and Council had their seats in Brussels. In 1985 the Parliament, wishing to be closer to these institutions, built a second chamber in Brussels and moved some of its work there despite protests from some states. A final agreement was eventually reached by the European Council in 1992. It stated the Parliament would retain its formal seat in Strasbourg, where twelve sessions a year would be held, but with all other parliamentary activity in Brussels.

So the the Parliament moves almost lock stock and barrel from Brussels to Strasbourg twelve times a year ending this cost alone might meet any cost in a rise in the EU and if Cameron really wants to change this he should make it a plank of his negotiation,.

The problem for Wales is that althoug a freze or cut in the UK budger might save the UKK some money at the moment we are net benefactors of the EU according to Plaid MEP Jill Evans on average each person in Wales contributes €195.82 per year to the EU, whilst EU funding to Wales is worth an estimated €243.98 per person annually.

And one thing can be certain if the EU Budget is cut or frozen and Wales loses EU funding then there's no chance of the Westminster government making it up even if it was to get an increase in the Tories magical rebate,

But Wales call was not helped when Ed Milliband led Labour in voting tactically with the anti-european Conservatives to seek cuts to the European budget.

So where does Labour stand do they want a freeze, a cut, or an increase in the EU budget?

Or do they simply want Cameron to fail ?

The future for EU funding for Wales looks bleak especially as the Conservative LibDem coalition government is thought to be considering proposals, as part of the ongoing budget negotiations, that would see such support reduced and allocated only on the basis of how poor Member States are, rather than looking in more detail at how poorer regions within wealthier Member States are performing as well.

As we are not a member state this could mean we will judged on the wealth of the UK alone which would be disastrous .

I began this discourse with saying I had some sympathy with Cameron and I have but the answer is to end the bureaucracy of the EU not to extend the cuts agenda further.

Of course if Wales was an Independent member of the EU we would have a say in this as even smaller countries like Luxembourg and the Baltic countries so apart from our four MEPs one of whom is a member of UKIP we have little voice.

With an increasingly Euro-Sceptic Tory Party and Labour playing silly games and not even telling us what they would do . Theres a very real chance that Wales will lose out in the next 10 years and if we want to have any relal say in Europe we need to be there on an equal as an Independent nation.