John Baron MP: The Twelve Days of the European Union – 6

6 – Founding Members of the EU

As we approach the final furlong to the EU referendum, and with the necessary apologies to the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, John Baron MP is sharing his ‘Twelve Days of the European Union’, setting out why we should vote to leave on 23rd June. Further daily instalments to follow.

The EU began as an agreement in 1951 between six countries – West Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg – to put their coal and steel industries under common management. With the Treaty of Rome in 1957, this evolved into the European Economic Community (EEC) – a collection of broadly similar countries and largely at the same levels of economic development – where the policy of ever closer political union was formalised.

The EU now has 28 members, and has a wide disparity of economies – with average earnings in Western Europe far higher than in Eastern European members. This has given rise to large migrations of people across national borders, as EU citizens make use of the EU’s ‘freedom of movement’ measures to live and work without hindrance in any EU member state.

John said,

“Uncontrolled migration from the EU is putting a great strain on our public services and, as the leader of the ‘remain’ campaign has admitted, has dampened wage growth – especially for the lower-paid. Only by leaving the EU can we properly take control of our borders, and gain the freedom to design a fairer immigration system open to the whole world, not just to the EU.”

Quote of the Day:

‘Public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals that we dare not present to them directly’
(Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of France, 1974-81)