Memorandum by Food Security
1. The likely impact of the changes is that
history will repeat itself, in that England will be treated unfairly
and there will continue to be an unlevel playing field. The end
of this road is not only ruin for English farmers, but ruin for
the whole of the UK.
2. Our ability to organize our own affairs with
regard to energy and water supplies also appears to be endangered
by the possible switch to co-decision on these and other matters.
This is not an insignificant consideration—these are life
and death issues.
The explicit taking over by the Union of "the
conservation of marine biological resources under the Common Fisheries
Policy" is extremely worrying. Do we really wish to risk
the lives of our 60 million people? Have we not got the courage
to protect our food supply?
The amended budgetary provisions appear to reflect
the reluctance of the EU to spend money of food production. The
UK Government's own stance on this is alarming—Lord Davies
of Oldham said in the House of Lords on 23 May 2007, "We
are continuing to bear down as best we can on what is still an
inflated budget spent on agriculture".
The conferring on the Union of exclusive and
shared competencies is of great concern. So many decisions taken
by the EU and accepted by the UK (eg Nitrates Directive, and now
cost-sharing with regard to animal diseases) are gradually eroding
our ability to feed ourselves, and therefore to defend ourselves.
We have noted that, under questioning by the EFRA Committee on
10 December, Lord Rooker admitted that this cost-sharing concept
is an EU regulation. We wonder why this Government has led us,
up until now, to believe that Defra simply considered it a good
idea.
We are concerned that the establishment of an
internal market and the inclusion of a solidarity clause will
disadvantage Britain and may lead to the seizure of our assets
by Europe (eg our armed forces and our natural resources, including
our oil).
Does any sober-thinking person really want the
consequences of Article 2? Will the democratically elected Government
of the UK allow our sovereignty to be eroded yet further? Where
are the politicians with the courage to stand against disaster?
15 December 2007
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