THE European Union is demanding a 5.9 per cent increase to its budget and threatens to apply new taxes to our hard-pressed businesses.

This will cover demands by MEPs for a 4.4 per cent increase in administration costs and a 90 per cent increase to their entertainment fund.

Here are some recent examples of unnecessary expense to the taxpayers of Europe: payments to all ex-Commissioners, £96,000-a-year each for three years; three-day study break in Madeira for EU staff, £350,000; new London EU headquarters, £20m; entertaining, training and “educating” journalists in 2009, £10m; and the new global diplomatic service, £8bn.

UK Independence Party MEPs do not accept this outrage, nor do others of like mind in the Independence and Democracies Group. Dutch MEP Peter Van Dalen agrees that spending 6.5 million euros a year on luxury rental cars for MEPs is a tad unnecessary. Conservative MEP Ashley Fox points out that 15 million euros could be saved simply by cutting a single Strasbourg session.

Every UK department’s budget is falling by 25 per cent to 40 per cent yet Britain’s EU contribution is rising by 60 per cent. Why? Because the EU isn’t a democracy.

Charlotte Bull, UK Independence Party, Darlington.