Should we pay up or...

2 Billion euros

(I totally cocked that up )

I am raging, what the hell is going on, they are making us mug punters !!

Oh come on Nonu - we all know what is really going on don't we?

Eh? What's going on?

Before today I would have been the last person to want us to leave, but this just seems so unfair.

GrannyTwice, obviously we don't all know what's going on. Please let us in on it.

Our net contribution to the E.U. Is £8.6 billion a year. I hope that the E.U. Realise that this extra €2 billion, to be payed by December 1st , will infuriate all in the UK, & will encourage many to vote to leave the E.U. They are being very naive -or very stupid- in Brussels!

Maybe they want us to leave. Maybe they have got fed up of the blackmail aspect of British politics.

They are being very stupid. They don't want us to leave. Angela Merkel doesn't. She knows it would be bad all round.

I suppose it's a case of "rules is rules". And we have to make a choice.

Maybe durhamjen, but they will miss our large financial contribution!

I don't think we should pay up. Let them do their worst!

I'm finding this issue quit ironic, given the fuss made when Alex Salmond stated that 'No Deal on Currency' would lead to Scotland not taking on a fair share of the National Debt. It was alleged that Scotland's credit rating would plummet and the country would be ostracised by all other nations. Will the same scenario not apply if the UK reneges on this debt i.e. refuses to pay part of its EUROclub membership fees?

Meant to add that DC can't have it both ways - either the figures for growth in the economy punted by GO are true -I which case UK can afford the £2bilion, or they are simply window dressing in the run up to the GE - in which case UK does not have the wherewithal to cough up. Oh what a tangled web........etc.

Didn't I hear that the ways of assessing contributions has recently changed and now includes revenue from prostitution and drug trafficking? This seems bizarre to me but I'm sure I didn't dream it. Any know anything about this?
If it is the case it's not much of a reputation to have for things we're good at!

You're right Nannyfran. Government figures posit that in 2013 sex work generated £5.3bn for the economy and £4.4bn is estimated to come from the sale of illegal drugs. The amounts we give to the EU have always fluctuated, as have the amounts of rebate and grants we receive. Under the same rules Greece and Italy are also having to pay more this year. Last year (using government figures) growth in Britain was greater than all the leading eurozone countries and by the first quarter of this year it was even greater than in the US.

It seems a huge sum: 1.7bn Euros - until you hear that the CBI assesses the value of UK membership of the EU at between £62bn - £78bn a year in extra trade and intangible benefits.

Thanks for the information, grannyactivist. It seems a peculiar system when Greece has gone through such austerity in the recent past, I hadn't realised their recovery was so successful.
As to whether we should pay, it seems an exorbitant amount and possibly needs investigation as to how they arrived at that amount. On the other hand, I was brought up to believe that one honoured one's agreements no matter no matter how unpallatable.

From listening to discussions about DC's robust objection, this seems to be pre-election posturing and happens across Europe each time an additional contribution is required as the books get balanced. It's assumed that the UK will pay up in due course, with Osborne and Cameron claiming they've secured a rebate from other calculations that would have come around anyway.

I am not at all keen on many of the aspects of the EU and I'm still not sure whether we should remain in it or not. However, I do think the EU has provided more protections for people and at least tried to rein in the power of large corporations.

The EU wanted to introduce a financial transaction tax of 0.1% for the trading in shares and bonds. This isn't a new idea - versions of it have apparently been around since 1694. James Tobin proposed such a tax in 1972 as a means to curb excessive speculation that does not benefit the "real economy" and as a reliable way of ensuring that financial institutions contribute towards taxation.

The problem is more pressing now because of the use of highly sophisticated technology to facilitate high speed trading (millions of sales and purchases being made per second). Those who have early access to market information (those that possess the most sophisticated technology that can detect (and presumably influence) trends) are in effect gaming the market. This sort of gambling mentality can bring great rewards to those that own or have a stake in financial institutions, but can cause absolute chaos to everybody else - as we have already seen.

The suggested tax rate could hardly be called excessive - 0.1% per trade in shares and bonds. There were howls of protest from the finance sector - some people believe this opposition was not because it would be a significant cost to the sector but because it has become so used to calling the shots and is opposed in principle to any measure that seeks to control how its operating methods.

The Conservative Party opposed this tax. The UK economy is very dependent on the financial sector, many argue unhealthily so. To refuse to introduce the tax would serve two purposes - to "keep in" with powerful financial institutions and to attract more business away from EU countries that introduce the tax. Nigel Farage has taken a similar line, saying it was important to protect "the country's biggest industry" from outside interventions.

If we did leave the EU we would, I think, be in a very precarious position - even more dependent on the money coming out of a financial sector that can choose to move its operating hub to another country if it is challenged in any way.

Very thoughtful and thought provoking post Eloethan

They have got us by the short and curlies - we have no choice but to pay. But in a situation where we are being told that the NHS has a huge shortfall, people will inevitably feel aggrieved about this.

I voted for us not to enter this club; but we are in.

I voted for us to join because I believed in my naiviete that it was to do purely with trading between European countries. It turned out not to be the case and I'm seriously considering voting 'out'. Brussels has too much power and we in the UK are unable to curtail their activities. A gift to UKIP you might say

It's certainly not the Common Market we joined.

My dad said we shouldn't join as we would in effect be handing over power to Germany. Perhaps he had a point!