The Euro is Collapsing - It will Hit us Hard

It is becoming more and more clear that the Euro cannot survive. EU leaders refuse to recognise the inevitable, and think they can take on world bond markets amd win. Greece and Portugal are bankrupt, Italy and Spain in trouble, and Germany is not going to give them a blank cheque.

We are not in the Eurozone, but it is still our biggest market. We need to start focusing our trade away from Europe - a declining region - and towards the rest of the world. Leaving the EU would provide the catalyst we need.

The Euro is Destroying Jobs and Devastating Weaker EU Economies

The euro is rapidly destroying the economies and living standards of weaker member states. Greece, Portugal and Ireland have been forced into a downward spiral of austerity, which shows no sign of ever being able to resolve their economic problems. These problems are a direct result of joining the Euro, the low interest rates it gave them, and the resultant unsustainable economic boom, followed by the inevitable bust.

Confidence in a currency is based on principle that a Government cannot go bust – it can always print money if need be. Inside the Eurozone, Governments can go bust. In itself it is a new threat to confidence.

We have our own economic problems, but the recent 25% devaluation of the pound sterling plus control over our interest rates will help us to overcome them. Eurozone countries have no such options. The spotlight of the bond markets has turned onto Spain and Italy. They are being propped up for now by the European Central Bank, but the Germans have made it clear that they will not support the major bail-out facility that markets think is needed.

Meanwhile EU leaders prepare a treaty change to give them effective control over the budgets of the weaker states. Economic and Monetary Union will mean one EU economy and one economic policy, decided in Brussels. National Parliaments and Governments will not be able to influence these policies.

Ultimately the weaker states will need to restructure their debts - which means defaulting on at least some of them. When that happens the whole Eurozone will be in chaos - and it is one of our biggest markets. EU leaders continue to defy reality, and will not prepare for weaker countries to leave the Euro, or admit that they can. The welfare of their peoples counts for far less than sustaining the EU dream.

See Peter Obourne and Frances Weaver on "The Great Euro-Swindle"

We must not Surrender Control over our Economy

The British people have shown in countless opinion polls that we want to keep the pound. The euro is not just about giving up the pound - it would lead to EU control over our taxes and what our Government spends and borrows, too.

In British general elections, economic policy is one of the big issues. It affects our jobs and our prosperity, and we want our governments to look after our interests. If they don't, we vote them out. With the euro, the EU will eventually take all economic decisions - a British General Election will not be able to change them. In the future EU superstate, a huge country of 450 million people, British votes will count for little.

The Euro has not Worked - even for France

The launch of the single market and the euro have failed to boost trade, jobs and economic growth in the European Union, according to a devastating 2006 report from an official French think-tank. The research, by some of France's most respected economists, was a damning indictment of European economic policy.  The report found that, contrary to decades of thinking across Europe, "economic integration has stagnated and no longer promotes growth. The Euro's creation has not produced the knock-on benefits expected...Financial and credit markets remain segmented".

Europhiles, convinced the launch of the Euro would force European governments to reform their failing, high tax and high regulation welfare states, have been proved wrong, the report says. It argues that the single currency has actually had the opposite effect. The report says that:

• No sudden increase in the trade of goods and services has been observed since the euro was introduced in 1999.
  
• The price convergence that EU monetary union was supposed to bring also did not occur
  
• The inability of the EU to revive the economy turns investment away from the continent

The report, entitled "Economic Policy and Growth in Europe", is published by the Conseil d'Analyse Economique, chaired by then Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. The main authors are Philippe Aghion, a Harvard professor; Elie Cohen, research director at Sciences-Po in Paris; and Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of the Bruegel Institute and professor at Paris IX-Dauphine. There are essays by another 10 economists. The CAE includes 40 of France's best-known economists from both the public and the private sectors, the Insee (the equivalent of Britain's Office for National Statistics), the Banque de France and various ministries.  

This damning verdict comes from the country which has been one of the most ardent supporters of the EU, and has succeeded in imposing its will in countless EU negotiations. They even insisted that the Governor of the European Central Bank resign half way through his term, to be replaced by a Frenchman. If the French have not benefited, who has?

The Euro has lowered growth in the Eurozone - from an average of 2.4% in the five years before monetary union to 2.1% in the five years after it. The three countries which stayed outside - Britain, Sweden and Denmark - all grew faster.

The Euro always was a Political Project

Continental politicians openly see the Euro as a major step towards a United States of Europe. (see Quotes from EU Leaders) Only in Britain do the politicians pretend it is not happening. Most British people don't want us to lose our independence - they want to keep the pound.

If we join the euro, British economic policy will no longer be decided by a British Government. If we don't like the way British politicians run our economy, we can vote them out. The EU, however, is totally undemocratic - we cannot dismiss any of them. The EU project, captained by unelected bureaucrats with large salaries and pension packages, sails serenely on.

The only good thing about the Euro is that if it breaks up, it will destroy the EU myth, and possibly the EU itself.

We will Leave the European Union - We Want a Referendumn the EUSKeep the Pound.sSay No to the Euro.