WALES IN
EUROPE
Newsletter No 1
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Dear Members and Supporters,
2016 will be a momentous year. At the time of writing it looks as though
the
British people will be asked in a referendum held in early summer whether
they wish to remain in the European Union of which Britain has now been a member
for 43 years. If the answer is ‘yes,’ then life will continue much as we know
it now. Little will change. Our international partners across the Atlantic, in Asia and in Europe will be relived. So will the businesses that form
the economic backbone of Britain.
But if we vote to leave, then who knows what will happen? What will not
be the case is that Britain will be transformed into a land of milk and honey.
Assertion that all will be well is no substitute for hard evidence that
it won't.
And if Scotland were to vote to remain in the EU, while elsewhere the
vote was to leave, that could trigger a second referendum on independence, splitting
the UK and reducing our influence in the world even further.
So much hangs in the balance. It will truly be a momentous year.
That is why it is so vital that every member, every supporter, tries to
recruit others to the vital goal of securing a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum.
The campaigns are gearing up now with the European Movement contributing vigorously
to the ‘Stronger In’ campaign. ‘Stronger In’ - see website details below will
also be able to advise how you can become involved in the single unified
campaign to keep Wales in the European Union.
In this newsletter we rehearse some of the key arguments and statistics
from a Wales perspective, beginning with a contribution from . . .
Carwyn
Jones, First Minister of Wales:
We’ve
always been clear in our desire to remain part of the European Union (EU).
The
importance of the Single Market should never be taken for granted. It is the
world’s biggest free trade area in GDP terms and the UK’s and Wales’ largest
trading partner.
Businesses
in the EU enjoy a ‘home’ market of just over 500 million people with the
ability to sell goods and services without tariffs or other trade restrictions
and with common safety and other regulatory standards.
The
Single Market is the largest market for Welsh exports – in 2014 alone exports
of
goods
from Wales to other EU Member States were worth nearly £5.8bn. In fact, 200,000
jobs in Wales depend on access to the Single Market. It is also a major driver
of inward investment. In 2015, there were over 500 enterprises from other EU
countries with operations in Wales, employing over 55,000 people.
European
programmes, such as the Structural Funds and the CAP, support the economy, particularly
in our most disadvantaged areas. Over the years Wales has benefited from billions
of pounds of EU funds. In 2015 we invested £425 million of EU Structural Funds
to support our economy and labour market.
While the
EU’s Common Agricultural Policy provides direct payments to more than 16,000
farm businesses in Wales, amounting to around £200 million a year.
The
benefits of being part of the EU are numerous and great.
To leave,
in my opinion would be a mistake - a mistake Wales would regret.
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‘Free’ Trade
I sometimes wonder
whether people, particularly the eurosceptics, who write about free trade and
markets understand what they are talking about? Out of the EU, they say, we shall
be able to trade freely with whoever we wish without being hindered by EU regulations.
Really?
Every market is
regulated - you can't just sell whatever you want to anyone. If you buy so much
as an electric plug you will see it carries the CE mark that says it conforms
to European regulations - in other words that it meets certain safety
standards. Many countries use the European standard, but each market will have
a standard to which goods must comply.
Being in the EU
allows us to influence what the European standard should be. It also avoids our
having to negotiate with each and every country because we can be part of the
global deals brokered by the EU.
If we leave the EU
then we shall have to go on complying with the European standards used by so
many countries. It is a myth to think that we could manufacture goods willy nilly
and other countries would just accept them, regardless of safety matters, or
efficiency, or labour laws.
So
we shall have to go on complying with European standards regardless of whether
we are in the EU. But if we are in then we can work to change the standards; if
we are out then we can’t.
Message
from WCEM Vice-Chair Gwynoro Jones ‘Challenging the Eurosceptics’
UKIP is
effective at scaremongering tactics, pointing out the problems within the
European Union (EU) and exploiting peoples’ unhappiness with the current state
of British politics.
But when
challenged as to what life would be like for Wales, its people, industries and
communities, outside the EU they have no answer.
So we
must challenge UKIP and the Tory euro-sceptics to tell the Welsh people what
their future outside the EU is going to be when it comes to investment,
economic growth and for agriculture and the rural economy and so on, and not
just to give us platitudes and generalities.
With so
much uncertainty why take such a leap in the dark? Why jeopardise what we know
and have now? If the coming vote will be a ‘Yes’ to stay in the EU then we know
where we are. Life will go on and some changes to improve our relationship
might even have been secured in the negotiations.
But should
the vote be ‘No,’ what then? There will be no going back. Leaving the EU will
not be like leaving a golf club, a political party or even a relationship.
For sure
the exit would be a messy and protracted and we should be negotiating our exit,
applying for access to the Single Market etc, from a position a weakness and to
those who will have been bruised by our behaviour and disinclined to do us any
favours.
Moreover,
although the Lisbon Treaty allows some 2 years for this process, the EU is not
noted for arriving at quick decisions. Consider the uncertainty and impact on
investment, the financial markets, the value of sterling, business and
commerce, the outflows of capital and labour and much more.
A recent
study by Agra Europe outlined a worrying future for agriculture and the rural
economy should Britain leave the EU. Currently the farming industry receives
between £3.5bn and £4bn in financial support.
In this
report it is envisaged that according to the UK Government’s own figures
outside the EU the level of support would fall to just over £1bn. On that basis
the future for the rural economy in Wales will be bleak outside the European
Union.
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Farmers
and Consumers
The other day I was
at a meeting when a farmer said - you wouldn't believe the volume of EU
regulations the agricultural industry had to satisfy, pesticides, water quality,
foodtsffs, animal welfare etc etc. If we pulled out we could lose all these and
have our own regulations.
'I asked him how long
he thought it would take the government to get around to rewriting the statute
book with a new set of regulations for British farmers and whether given the
potential conflicts between farners, enviromentalists, animal welfarists, consumers,
etc, the government might simply just leave the existing regulations in
place rather than
having to renegotiate everything again?
He hadn't thought of
that.
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Byddai gadael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd yn arwain at ganlyniadau
difrifol yng nghefn gwlad.
Petai
UKIP ac eraill yn y blaid Dorïaidd yn cael eu ffordd a Prydain yn gadael yr
Undeb Ewropeaidd yna heb amheuaeth fydde yna le i ofni am ddyfodol ffermio,
busnesau, gwasanaethau, a economi cymunedau gwledig Cymru.
I
bwysleisio’r ffaith, ar hyn o bryd ar gyfartaledd mae ffermwyr yn dibynnu i
fyny at 35 -50% o’u hincwm gros ar cymorthdal yr Undeb Ewropeaidd.
Amcangyfrifir pe bae y Deyrnas Unedig (DU) tu allan i’r Undeb Ewropeaidd fe
fyddai yn wir dyfodol llwm yn gwynebu ffermnio gan mae dim ond tua 10-15% o
ffermydd allai oroesi heb y lefelau presennol o gymorth.
Hefyd
ar hyn o bryd, derbynnir gan y DU tua £4.0bn mewn taliadau cymhorthdal ar gyfer
busnesau ffermio a cefn gwlad. Y dyfaliad gorau sydd wedi ei wneud pe byddai
Llywodraeth
Prydain yn gweithredu ar ei ben ei hun dim ond tua £1.0bn galle’r llywodraeth glustnodi
i amaethyddiaeth.
Er mwyn
sicrhau bod amaethyddiaeth gynaliadwy yn gweithredu yn llwyddianus o fewn cymuned
gynaliadwy dibynnir ar bedair elfen bwysig - cefnogi gwasanaethau gwledig a'r economi,
gofalu am yr amgylchedd, diogelu ein treftadaeth a sicrhau lefelau da o incwm.
Heb os
mae y gwahanol bolisïau i ddatblygu busnesau a mentrau gwledig yn cael ei
hyrwyddo
yn dda gan yr Undeb Ewropeaidd ac yn cyfrannu'n effeithiol i gefnogi'r economi wledig,
cymunedau, treftadaeth a thirwedd.
Gwna’r
Rhaglen Cynlluniau Datblygu Gwledig cyfraniad amhrisiadwy. Mae’r cyllid a geir
nid yn unig yn cefnogi y diwydiant amaethyddol, ond hefyd busnesau megis
twristiaeth a gwasanaethau gwledig eraill.
Bydd
gadael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd yn drychineb i gefn gwlad.
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Young
European Movement
Cardiff
Young European Movement (CYEM) is the young members branch of the European movement
in Cardiff. The aim of CYEM is to work for a staying in vote in the upcoming referendum
on EU membership in the UK. Also to maintain close cultural links with other
(YEM) branches across the UK, and Young European Federalists (JEF) across
Europe.
We do not
have an date set let but their will be an social event some time in the end of
January Contact: Michailcardiff@gmail.com
AGM/Conference.
No date
has been fixed yet for the AGM but we expect this to be in March, probably in Brecon
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Websites:
European
Movement UK: euromove.org.uk
Young
European Movement: yem.org.uk
Stronger
In Campaign www.strongerin.co.uk
British
Influence www.britishinfluence.org
Gwynoro
Jones - gwynorojones@blogspot.co.uk
Facebook:
Yes Europe Wales,
Ie Dros
Ewrop
Wales for
Europe
Cymru
Dros Ewrop
Yes to
Staying in EU
Peter
Sain ley Berry, Treasurer and Newsletter Editor
wales@euromove.org.uk