The thought occurred to me that, when a club takes in new members, its net income increases so, in theory, it could/should either:-
a) do more things (whatever the club is generally about)
b) reduce the net contribution of all members but keep doing about the same amount of stuff as it did before. Cheaper subscriptions serve to attract yet more members.
So I googled to see how the enlargement countries have boosted the EU pot. Instead, I found this pre-enlargement document. I cannot take it all in but the last few pages touch on the internal blocking coalitions and their motivations. Very interesting and my understanding has suddenly increased
The Context
Structural Budget deficits are a feature of the members of the eurozone core. This has put the Stability and Growth Pact of EMU under great pressure, and while many think this pact is theoretically unnecessary, it is crucial for EMU credibility. This pact declares that each country should aim for the budget balance in medium term and the budget deficit should not exceed the 3% of the GDP. France and Germany are both above those strict criteria of deficit levels and Italy is struggling to remain within them against a background of weak growth. Even for those eurozone members not in structural deficit the need to aim for budget balance under the Pact forces them to look for revenue (or cut expenditure) where they can. As a result EU members are effectively short of tax revenue. And when it comes to reducing deficits the EU budget is politically a free hit.
**Net recipients from the Budget effectively tax foreigners and foreigners cannot vote and thus have no impact on domestic politics. ** Equally the net payers to the Budget look to cut their net contributions. This, above all, is German strategy but interestingly now even the Netherlands, once seen as a champion of Communitaire policies and an opponent of juste retour, tries to do the same. Dutch ministers sound exactly like Margaret Thatcher at the beginning of the 1980s, they want their money back, as do German ministers. The existing net recipients obviously look to sustain their position. The Spanish, the Greeks, the Portuguese, the Irish and even the Germans, for their new Länder in the East, all want to hold onto their structural funds money still. And France threatens the veto in defence of its receipts from the Common Agricultural Policy.
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http://www.sussex.ac.uk/sei/documents/sei-working-paper-no-65.pdf
** = my emphasis
This document is only/mainly about agriculture and goes on to describe the farms in enlargement countries as "barely subsistence level" or not much better. So they are not net food exporters, nor profit-turners.
And that was before we started draining their farm labourers away to better pay & conditions (even under gangmasters!!???), on highly profitable farmland in countries like ours.
Is it any wonder that mass migration happened? Why did they not forsee this?
Enlargement countries cannot grow their economies *except* at our expense. Maybe, one day, they will buy a car, and a houseful of consumer goods but, aside from luxury brands, what consumer goods do we still manufacture which might appeal? (Note: goods outsourced to the Far East don't count.
If you read this far, I thank you.