Cost of Europe

When you next put milk in your cup of tea or coffee, or eat your fish and chips, or go to college, just for a second or two, think on how that was possible.
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UK dairy farmers are supported by European subsidies (Common Agricultural Polices), local fishermen are supported by MEPs and local people such as Catchbox working together, while colleges survive through overseas students paying their own fees up front.

Society Now (Issue 18), a research magazine, quite reasonably asks us all to choose wisely when it comes to determining our future and the future of our children, and grandchildren.

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The cost of being part of Europe is virtually impossible to quantify, and stipulate accurate facts because it is so complex. But we can say that it costs us ½ p in every £1 of our overall monetary value, our UK GDP, and EU participation is worth between 4p and 5p for every £1 we spend. (Society Now. April 2014, p27).

This seems a reasonable return for our investment in our country, and a sound logical argument to stay in the group, not be an outsider.

If we were outside Europe, we would still have to negotiate new trade deals with the European Union through the World Trade Organisation, and we would still have to comply with EU regulations over which we would, like Switzerland and Norway, have no direct influence.

Is it really worth it, in the words of the old saying to send us to Coventry, and no disrespects to the city of Coventry intended?

Choose wisely.

Hazel Thorpe

High Street

Tarring

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