1. Wales and the EU
Frequently Asked
Questions
Produced by Derek Vaughan MEP
2. 1. Does the U.K. / Wales pay more to the E.U. than it gets out?
The U.K. makes a net contribution of £9.4 billion. Wales however makes a net
gain of £838 million per year from the E.U. budget.
2. Would the U.K. government give Wales the same amount of
funding if we were outside the E.U.?
No U.K. government of any political colour would be able to guarantee
that they would be able to match the almost £5 billion that Wales will
receive over the next funding period.
3. How much funding has Wales received from the E.U. and how much will we receive
in the future?
Wales received £4.17 billion for the period 2007-2013. For 2014-2020 Wales will
receive £4.9 billion from the CAP and structural funds.
4. What is the potential impact on the U.K's GDP?
It has been estimated that the U.K. could lose as much as 6.1 - 9.5 % of GDP
following an U.K. exit from the E.U over time.
5. Were previous E.U. structural funds wasted in Wales?
Previously, too many smaller programmes were funded. Lessons have been learned
from this and the focus will now be on strategic projects which will have a bigger
economic impact. We would certainly be worse off without the E.U funding.
3. 6. What have been the outcomes from E.U. Structural Funds (jobs & businesses created
and qualifications gained)?
Results 20017-2013
7. How much structural funding will Wales receive in 2014 - 2020?
£2.4 billion
8. How much CAP funding did Wales receive in 2007-2013?
£2.25 billion
9. How much CAP funding will Wales receive in 2014 - 2020?
£2.5 billion
4. 10. Would the U.K. government replace CAP funds if we were outside the E.U.?
Certainly not the full amount. It has been
estimated that the U.K. government would
only provide £1 billion for farmers across the
whole of the U.K. this is less than half what
Welsh farmers alone receive at the moment.
Without European Common Agricultural Policy
funding 90% of British farms would be
financially unsustainable.
11. What are the achievements of the Common Agricultural Policy in Wales?
Over the 2007-2013 period the Common Agricultural Policy provided £197.94
million a year in single farm payments to 16,000 farmers a year. Investment
in rural infrastructure is vital and the £260 million was invested in 2007-2013
in projects which benefit wider rural communities, through the Rural
Development Plan.
12. Outside of the E.U. would farmers pay tariffs on their exports?
Farmers and fishermen might well have to pay tariffs on certain goods, as Norway
does. We would have no say if later on the E.U decided to raise tariffs. Our farmers
would have to compete with heavily subsidised European farmers.
13. How much of the U.K's exports go to the E.U.?
In 2014 45% of U.K. exports went to the E.U and 53% of U.K. imports were from the
E.U. Conversely, the E.U. relies a lot less on U.K. trade; recent IMF direction of trade
figures in The Economist puts this figure at 6.6%.
5. 14. How may Welsh jobs depend on trade with the E.U.?
According to a Centre for Economic Business Research report, 191,332 jobs in Wales
are linked to the E.U. single market.
15. What does the E.U. do for Businesses in Wales?
The E.U. invests in the Welsh workforce making them more attractive to our
businesses. Welsh businesses can also bid for contracts for E.U. projects. Being part
of Europe also means that if a Welsh company is exporting to Europe in only has to
meet one set of regulations rather than 28.
16. Why won't the WTO rules ensure our companies won't pay tariffs?
The E.U. would still be entitled to impose tariffs in line with other non-members.
These tariffs have been estimated at 9% in the case of motor vehicles, 4.1% on
natural gas, 6% on unwrought aluminium and 12.8% on wheat exports.
17. What is wrong with the U.K. adopting the Norway and
Switzerland models?
The Norway and Swiss models would mean tariffs on certain
goods, no say in making the rules and still having to abide by
the E.U's rules to get our products accepted into the Single market.
18. How does the U.K. benefit from the E.U. trade agreements with other countries?
These deals raise product standards within the other nations, preventing them from
undercutting British businesses, and this has beneficial environmental and social
effects. They also open new markets to British businesses.
Norwegian Salmon faces Tariffs
6. 19. How much would the U.K. pay if we took the Norwegian option?
If the U.K. took the Norwegian option of European Free Trade Association
membership and ended up contributing to the E.U. on the same per capita basis as
Norway, it would contribute £6.6 billion to the E.U. budget. The Welsh contribution
has been estimated at £320 million per year.
20. Can you explain TTIP to me?
TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, is a potential transatlantic
trade deal between the European Union and the United States of America. This deal
will massively reduce tariffs and other barriers between the two blocs and allow an
increase in trade. The average Welsh household will see its disposable income
increase by around £400 per year.
21. I don't like TTIP so shouldn't I vote to leave the E.U.?
Firstly, we won't know the final text until it is put before the European Parliament for
ratification. Furthermore, leaving the E.U. would sacrifice our ability to influence the
deal as the European Parliament will have the final say on TTIP. Finally, if we were
not in the E.U. there would a U.S.-U.K. TTIP, and it would be much worse as the
Tories would not care about protecting the NHS or product and environmental
standards.
22. Do most of our laws come from the E.U.?
No, the House of Commons Library calculated that from 1997-2009,
6.8 % of Primary Legislation and 14.1% of secondary legislation was
part of the implementation of E.U obligations.
7. 23. Is the E.U. undemocratic and does it force legislation on the U.K?
No, the European Commission can propose legislation but any legislation and the
budgets have to be agreed by Member States in the Council and by the directly
elected members of the European Parliament, as such the U.K. gets a direct say.
24. Does the E.U. cost too much?
No, for a start the E.U. budget is actually quite small,
only about 1% of E.U. GDP. Each Welsh person makes
a net gain £274 per year from European funding. The
CBI has also estimated that E.U. membership benefits
each household in the U.K. by £3000 per year, once
you include the benefits of free trade and the Single Market.
25. In the renegotiation, will the U.K. government take away workers' rights?
There was major speculation that David Cameron would seek to gain an opt-out of
some of the worker's rights clauses. However, it has not been raised since the formal
start of negotiations and is now off the table thanks to Labour MEPs and the
Unions.
26. What has the E.U. done on environmental legislation?
A lot. Environmental legislation has been a major cornerstone of the E.U. It covers air
and water pollution, climate change mitigation, waste and recycling, the reduction of
chemicals, and marine protection. For instance, U.K. air quality improved between
1990 and 2001 as the result of E.U. directives and this avoids 4,200 deaths and 3,500
hospital admissions due to respiratory conditions in Britain per year.
8. 27. What has the E.U. done to protect consumer rights?
The E.U. has introduced common consumer rights across Europe to protect
customers from unscrupulous businesses helping to boost transparency, quality,
and safety. E.U. standards are among the highest in the world. Toys and electrical
products sold to you must meet these standards; this protects yourself and your
families from harm. This prevents people from making quick cash from
compromising your safety.
28. Does the free movement of people mean we can't control our own borders?
No. The U.K. has opted out of the Schengen passport free zone so we still control our
borders. Free movement is a two way process, with around 2 million E.U. citizens
living in the U.K. and around 2 million U.K. citizens living in E.U. countries they
practically balance out.
29. What is the effect of E.U. migration on U.K. wages?
A 2013 study found that the impact of immigration on average wages was about a 0-
1-0.3% increase for every 1% migration added to the labour force. Statistically
speaking then the effect has been essentially zero.
30. Don't migrants use welfare and the NHS?
E.U. citizens are allowed to access services sources and support, but British citizens
in Europe cost those countries five times more than treating E.U. citizens in Britain.
31. Is this a drain on resources?
European citizens contribute more than they take out of the system; an academic
study showed that they made a net contribution of £20 billion to the U.K. economy
between 2000 and 2011, as they are more likely to be in work and less likely to be
claiming state benefits than U.K. citizens.
9. 32. Why have the E.U. accounts not been cleared for years?
This is a common misconception. The European Court of Auditors recently signed off
on the 2014 Accounts, making this the eight year in a row that the accounts have
been declared to be legal.
33. What would the effect of leaving the E.U. be on young people in Wales?
They would lose access to many opportunities, in particular the Erasmus+
programme. Over the course of 2014-2020 Wales could potentially gain £36.09
million from this programme, and it will provide educational and training
opportunities to young people across Wales. Another example of E.U. support was
the E.U. funding for the Jobs Growth Wales programme, this project has already
created 15,000 jobs for young people in Wales.
34. But what about all of the things that the media say the E.U. want to ban?
The press often misrepresents stories from the E.U. such as the recent reports of a
"ban" on coffee machines, when actually all the legislation meant was that the all
coffee machines made in the E.U. after January 2015 needed to have a standby
mode to help save energy. It was also reported that high powered vacuum cleaners
were also being banned, this is not so. It only meant new vacuum cleaners had to
meet certain energy efficiency levels, helping you to save on energy costs. The
biggest of these myths was that the E.U.
wanted to ban curved bananas. This was
completely unfounded. In fact the E.U. was
intervening to set certain standards on unripe
bananas at the request of the industry. Not
E.U. meddling but the E.U. reacting to help businesses.
