European Union (Audit of Benefits and Costs of UK Membership) Bill
During a debate on a private members bill to set up a commission to conduct regular audits of the costs and benefits of the UK's membership of the EU, Brooks Newmark condemns the fact that the accounts have not been signed off for 13 years.
Mr. Brooks Newmark (Braintree) (Con): Is there not a more fundamental problem than transparency about the costs and benefits to UK plc, which is that the accounts have not been signed off for some 13 years. I was in business for 20 years before I came to the House, and frankly, I would not have invested a penny into any company unless I had seen fully audited accounts. That is where the real shame of the EU and its auditing process lies.
Mr. Chope: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is wonderful that the Chairman of the Select Committee on Public Accounts is in the Chamber today. I hope that he will make a major contribution to this debate, because his Committee has done some useful work on the failure of the EU to eliminate fraud or even account for the money that we pay into it.
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Mr. Newmark: The Irish people have done us all a favour and we should thank them. Many countries have not had the opportunity to hold a referendum, but if they did, I suspect that most of them would say no. The initial vision of the European Union as a European free market has changed, and people today are saying that enough is enough. I find it strange that we have reached a stage at which the European Union has almost become an Orwellian state-it is a shame.
Mr. Chope: I do not think that my hon. Friend is exaggerating at all. If we look at the background to the Irish referendum, we see that the people supporting a no vote asked for the treaty-the subject of the referendum-to be given to the people so that they could read it for themselves and see what was involved. The Irish Government, who supported the yes vote, refused to allow that. That just shows the extent to which the European elite are keen to keep their people in the dark. This is all about evidence-based policy making.
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Mr. Newmark: I do not wish to be too pedantic, but I note that neither MEPs nor employees of the European Commission are to be included in my hon. Friend's commission. However, I believe that we, as elected representatives of this sovereign Parliament, should have some input into the commission. I am curious to know whether my hon. Friend feels that Members of this House should be included-my right hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) or my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh), for example, as they both have tremendous experience on this particular issue.
Mr. Chope: I do not have it mind for them to be included in the commission, mainly because the amount of work needed over a short period of time would make it very difficult for them to carry on their constituency duties. What is important is that their knowledge and expertise would be available when we receive the Government's report based on the evidence provided by the commission. Knowledgeable and commendable as those individuals and others are, it would be better to draw on their experience in that way rather than in the way that my hon. Friend suggests.
