6.6.5.5  The Cost of the EU

(The latest version of this page is at Pattern Descriptions.  An archived copy of this page is held at https://www.patternsofpower.org/edition02/6655.htm)

Those who argue against Britain's membership of the EU often cite its cost as a major concern.  Some use deceptive data,[1] quoting gross figures rather than the net cost to Britain – which is about half of the gross cost, and is about £8.5bn p.a.,[2] about 0.54% of the 2012 GDP of £1,562bn.[3]  Cost is certainly an issue, and it is also possible to point at instances of corruption and waste – although measures are being taken to combat this. 

Just as with a national tax system (3.5.1), contributions are calculated on the basis of ability to pay.  Richer countries have more to lose economically from strife, so their additional contributions are at least partly justifiable in terms of their greater benefits from stability.

It is impossible to quantify the benefits of EU membership in financial terms.  Security and economic stability are clearly worth something, and could be worth more if countries tried harder to reap the possible collective benefits.  A more coherent EU foreign policy would enable countries to share costs on embassies and defence, for example.

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[1] UKIP's website described What We Stand For, in which it asserted that "outside the EU we will save £53m a day"– which would add up to over £19bn a year, compared to the Treasury figure of £17.2bn gross and £8.6bn net.  This was available in March 2014 at http://www.ukip.org/issues/policy-pages/what-we-stand-for, and the relevant quotation appeared in section 3: Rebuild Prosperity and Keeping the Lights On.

[2] HM Treasury published a document entitled European Union Finances 2013, which listed UK gross and net contributions to the EU from 2007 to 2012, with an estimate for 2013 of £17.2bn gross and £8.6bn net.  The relevant table, 3.A, appeared on page 13 of the document (page 18 of the PDF) and was available in March 2014 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-union-finances-2013.  The statement also “includes information on developments in EU financial management and the fight against fraud affecting EU funds”.

[3] The Guardian published a convenient source of UK GDP data, based on figures published by the Office of National Statistics, which was available in March 2014 at http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/nov/25/gdp-uk-1948-growth-economy.