Should we fly the flag for EU or go it alone?

TO steal a line from John Cleese’s character in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, what has being a member of the EU ever done for us?

Pro-Europeans point towards decades of relative peace on a continent previously ravaged by war and the importance of fostering trade links with an economic bloc larger than that of the US and Japan combined, with 500 million people and total GDP of about £11 trillion.

The Government estimates that 3.5 million jobs in Britain are linked, directly or indirectly, to the UK’s trade with other member states.

Eurosceptics, on the other hand, reckon that negative trade imbalances with Europe and a hefty net contribution to the budget show we have had a bad deal during our 40 years of membership.

Many are infuriated that Britain’s net contributions to the EU have been rising over the past ten years because agricultural subsidies have declined in relative terms.

Why not quit the union, save ourselves a fortune in membership fees, and continue to trade with the constituent states in a semidetached role, they ask.

After all, the City of London has developed into the world’s largest financial centre, despite the UK being outside the eurozone.

Total North-East exports to the EU last year were £6.5bn, which represents 48 per cent of the region’s total.

Nissan Sunderland is responsible for roughly a third of those.

Five out of every six cars made in the UK are exported. If we became a non-member, Nissan would be expected to pay a ten per cent tariff on exports to the EU and a five per cent tariff on components.

Norway, as a non-member, pays two-thirds as much per head for access to the single market as the UK.

EU membership brings definite benefits for some of the region’s biggest manufacturers.

Steelmaker SSI is developing strong links with a client in Turkey, which is keen to buy Teesside steel because it is more cost-effective than being hit with import duties from suppliers in Russia.

Hitachi is building a train factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, to give it a bridgehead into European markets such as Germany.

Liberal Democrat North-East MEP Fiona Hall is convinced an EU exit would pose a jobs threat.

“For Nissan, Hitachi and other foreign companies investing in the North-East, unfettered access to the European market was a key factor in their decision to come to the region,” she said.

“And there is no doubt that an EU exit would cause widespread economic damage and job losses, particularly in the manufacturing and chemical industries.

“As many as 140,000 jobs in the North-East are dependent on our membership of the single market.”

A survey this month by the North East Chamber of Commerce showed there was little desire to see a full withdrawal, but many of the region’s businesses would like to see the renegotiation of Britain’s links with its near trading partners.

The chamber commissioned the survey after the Prime Minister announced his plan to stage an in/out referendum on UK membership by the end of 2017.

A Hitachi train. The firm is building a train factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, to give it a good position to move into European markets

The EU must change because it is being “out-competed, outinvested and out-innovated”, says David Cameron.

John Elliott, chairman of Ebac, the Newton Aycliffe-based manufacturer of dehumidifiers and water coolers, shares his view.

He says: “In the 40 years since I founded Ebac, the business has grown from one man to 200 and we have succeeded through good times and bad.

“During this period, the European Union has increased in both its costs and activities. It has promised much, but sadly has only delivered under-performance.

“We were told that if the wealthier countries in Europe pay extra taxes to help the weaker countries in the south, we’d all be better off in the long run.

“This clearly hasn’t worked because, despite paying many millions, we now find that the recipient countries of Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland are all virtually bankrupt.

“Any economist who thought several different countries could share the same currency simply doesn’t understand economics.

“The single currency is like all the members of one street sharing one bank account. It should be okay, but life is never that simple.

A slab of steel being cut on the production line at SSI UK on Teesside, which is developing links in Turkey

“It is, I believe, accepted that the EU is badly run and, after 50 years of poor performance, why does anyone think it can be corrected?

“Albert Einstein said ‘insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome’. My proposal would not be to leave the EU, it would be to disband the EU so that we could have a successful Europe.”

Results of the North East Chamber of Commerce survey

• Remain in the European Union, but with specific powers transferred back from Brussels to Westminster, received the highest positive impact rating, with 60 per cent. This scenario also received the lowest negative impact rating, with seven percent.
• Full withdrawal from the European Union received the highest negative impact rating, with 57 per cent.
• Remain in the European Union with no change to current relationship received the lowest positive impact rating, with seven per cent.
• The survey also revealed that the region’s businesses’ top three priorities for any re-negotiation of the balance of competences between Brussels and Westminster are: 1) employment law – 54 per cent; 2) health and safety law – 40 per cent; 3) regional development policies – 29 per cent.
• Other areas where significant numbers of businesses wanted to see change included justice and home affairs policies and publicsector procurement rules. North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) director of policy, Ross Smith, said: “These results reflect regional business attitudes towards Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Our members feel passionately that re-negotiation, rather than further integration or outright withdrawal, is most likely to deliver business and economic benefit to the UK. “For a region so successful in exports, the EU market remains crucial. This survey is a clear demonstration that our businesses want to remain part of the single market. “The survey also confirms that employment and health and safety are the areas where companies would like to see legislative competence return to Westminster from Brussels. From a business perspective, re-negotiation of Britain’s relationship with the European Union must focus on these areas.”
• The NECC surveyed 4,387 businesses in late February and March.