The Green Inquistion

The sight of Januz Lewandowski crumbling in the face of Green pressure is sad. Bruno picks up the tale,

In an interview with the Novy Przemysl magazine, Mr Lewandowski argued the EU's policy of increasing greenhouse gas reduction targets would be a "disaster" for Poland, which is still rebuilding its economy from the backwardness of the Soviet era.

"There is a view breaking through that the theory of coal-generated power as the main culprit of global warming is seriously in doubt," he said.

Brave man in the current climate, too brave it turned out,

Green campaign groups and an alliance of MEPs described the commissioner's comments as "terrifying" because, it was claimed he was seeking to "deny the overwhelming evidence of climate change".


"The commissioner should fully explain himself," Joris den Blanken a Greenpeace spokesman told the EurActiv website. "If not, the consequences for his role in the European Commission should be considered."

Following a week of increasingly shrill calls from the European Parliament and NGOs for him to recant his views or face disciplinary sanctions, Mr Lewandowski made a humiliating climb down.

"In order to clarify misunderstandings," he said in a statement. "I acknowledge the fact that the overwhelming majority of scientific studies confirm the phenomenon of global warming."

UKIP's very own Godfrey Bloom has piled into the fray,

The sight of Commissioner Lewandowski being forced to recant in the face of the strident Greens looks like nothing other than the Inquisition. With the High priests of Greenery acting as so many Torquemada's.
It is not that I often that I agree with the Commissioner, but he absolutely right, and right to speak out. To see him crawling in apology to these people is a sad day for the freedom of speech. For these people to link him to the holocaust and him a Pole is outrageous.

In 1616 a committee of advisors to the Holy Inquisition attacked Galileo and declared that holding the view that the Sun is the centre of the universe or the earth moves is absurd and formally heretical. Today holding that Anthropomorphic Climate Change is anything more that a desire on the part of heavily subsidised pressure groups and government to tax and control our lives is the same.

In 1992 the Catholic Church finally admitted that Galileo was right.

What rebate?

It looks to me that those nice chaps in the European Commission are doing what they can to help Mr Cameron. The reports this morning about the EU's wish to end the remains of Thatcher's famous budget rebate fall into this bracket.

"The British rebate has lost its original justification," Mr Lewandowski told the leading German daily Handelsblatt in an interview published on Monday (6 September). "The structure of the EU budget has changed substantially. Farm subsidies – the main reason for the rebate – have decreased, while the per-capita income of the UK has increased substantially since the 1980s."

Lewandowski seems to have become the Commission's floater of choice what with this and the comment a couple of weeks ago that he was interested in setting up a pan European tax. Of the EU dislikes what remains of the post Blair rebate, and it is amusing that he suggests that they want to spend the money on their 'global ambitions', but, but.

What I can see is happening here is that he is setting up a straw man threat to the UK's budget. The boy Dave and his accolyte Mr Osborne can then say that they are going to the wall to protect the budget.

Then when the Commission backs down on the subject the Government can parade themselves around claiming 'Game set and Match to Britain'.

The headlines will state what a doughty defender of British interests the Coalition Government is, whilst not noticing the continued leaching of power elsewhere.

The EU wants more of your money - but wants to hide the fact

Currently the money that goes from the UK to the EU is pretty visible. It goes in the form of a direct block based upon the relative wealth of the country. There are also subventions from VAT and so on.

But in these times of austerity, with budgets being cut across the public sector, governments are a little embarrased that they are unable to cut the amount being sent to Brussels.

So what to do to silence the critics? Tough job.

So the EU is now floating an idea that will allow them to get their hands on people's cash, whislt simultaneously allowing Governments to pretend that the ampount of money going to Brussels is decreasing. Thus shifting the cost burden to Joe public below the obvious balance sheet.

Thus we have the Budget Commissioner Mr Janusz Lewandowski talking to the FT Duetschsland (and reported by EU Observer)

"If the EU had more of its own revenues, then transfers from national budgets could be reduced. I hear from several capitals, including important ones like Berlin, that they would like to reduce their contribution," he added.

He indicated that possible tax sources for Brussels could include an aviation tax and a financial transaction tax. Mr Lewandowski also has his eye on the money raised from the auctioning of CO2 emissions rights, something due to start in 2013.

The dishonesty is palpable. This money is still gouing to come from the punter, in these cases through increased costs, and it will be less transparent.

Though of course if on the bill for your flight, or on your bank charges there was a line
"Taxes for EU contribution", then maybe it would be at least honest. But that isn't going to happen. The businesses in question, desperate not to upset their regulatory masters would never do anything as honest. (except maybe Ryanair)

Update
Maybe Lewandowski is shooting the breeze

HT @OpenEurope