As a precursor to the election, this briefing explains the EU today, and the Labour government's performance over the past decade, in figures. It also explains what the Conservatives are proposing.

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• 
  
• 2010 EU Budget: €141.5bn (1.2% of member states' Gross National Income [GNI])
  • 2009: €136.8bn; 1970: €4bn [1]
  • 2007-13: €864.3bn [2]
• 
  
• 2010-11 UK payments to the EU: €7.2bn (£6.4bn ) - almost 60% higher than 2009-10 [3]
  • £257 for every UK household, or 3p on standard rate of income tax [4]
  • UK rebate 2010-11: £3.3bn [5]
  • 2007-13 UK gave up €10.5bn (£9.3bn) rebate to push for EU budget reform [6]; 1999-05 the rebate had ranged between €4.4bn - €5.7bn [7]
• 
  
• 2010 EU spending:
  • Management of natural resources: €59.5bn
  • Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): €43.8bn (31% EU budget; +6.4% on 2009)
  • Rural development: €14.4bn (+2.6% on 2009)
  • Milk producers emergency aid: €300m [8]
  • Common Fisheries Policy (CFP): €921m (+2.6% on 2009; Total 2007-13: €3.85bn)
  • Sustainable growth: €64.3bn
  • Competitiveness (research): €14.9bn
  • Cohesion (regional aid): €49.4 (+2% on 2009)
  • Economic recovery: €2.4bn [9](Total 2009-2010: €5bn )
  • Combating climate change: €307m (-3.2% on 2009)
  • Energy and transport: €2bn (-10.2% on 2009)
  • European Social Fund: €10.8bn
  • Justice and security: €1bn (+16.2% on 2009 - the biggest increase)
  • Common Foreign and Security Policy: €281m (+15.9% on 2009)
  • External Borders Fund: €208m
  • Integration of Third Country Nationals: €111m
  • European Police Office (Europol): €80m
  • External Aid: €8.1bn
  • Developing countries: €2.5bn (+3.9 % on 2009)
  • Pre-accession assistance (IPA): €1.6bn (+4.5% on 2009)
  • Humanitarian Aid: €800m (+3% on 2009)
  • Administration: €7.9bn (+3.87% on 2009)[10] (EU Commission admin: €3.6bn)

The UK Labour Party is broadly 'Pro-EU' and wants the UK to have more influence in the EU rather than "opting out". However Labour has a mixed record on engaging with the EU and negotiating advantages for the UK: having proclaimed a commitment to join the Euro (the EU's single currency), Labour has dragged its feet; Tony Blair gave up 20% of the UK rebate in exchange for "fundamental reform of the CAP" in 2005, but reform was limited.

• CAP and CFP - reform to enable sustainable, environmentally-friendly farming and fishing
• Economy - work for a level-playing-field in Europe:
  • Support a coordinated EU response to the economic downturn
  • Create a democratic European Central Bank (ECB)
• Energy - negotiate EU-wide energy policy
  • Reduce imports dependency - use efficient/renewable energy e.g. biofuels
• Environment - strengthen minimum EU standards [11]
  • Meet the EU target to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020
  • Promote recycling and sustainability and create new "green jobs"
• EU Enlargement - in favour of Turkey and Croatia joining the EU.
• Health: support EU-wide food labelling, common standards in health and safety
• Euro membership - repeatedly delayed decision on the UK joining the euro:
  • Gordon Brown's '5 Economics tests' (1997) concluded joining the euro "is not in the UK's economic interest".[12] A review in 2003 drew the same conclusion.[13]
• External relations - 'soft' power (economic sanctions, trade agreements, diplomacy)
  • Create trade agreements with ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific)[14]
• Lisbon Treaty - 2005 Labour Party manifesto promised a referendum on the EU Constitution, but Labour claimed its replacement (the Lisbon Treaty) was "fundamentally different" and refused to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
• Social Policy - support the development of an EU-wide social policy:
  • Social Chapter - signed by Tony Blair in 1998 [15]
  • Workers' rights: working time laws; equal rights for part time workers

The UK Conservative Party is broadly 'EU-sceptic' and opposes EU Federalism, but does not advocate withdrawal from the EU. The Tories propose a UK Sovereignty Bill to confirm the authority of UK Parliament and courts. They campaign to end the EU's 'waste, excessive bureaucracy and lack of transparency'. In 2009, Conservative MEPs left the European People's Party (biggest EP grouping) to 'create real opposition', but critics say their new group ( European Conservatives and Reformists ) has limited power and includes extreme European parties.

• CAP and CFP: need radical reform
• Economy: boost Global competitiveness by enabling free and fair trade and competition with minimal regulation throughout the Single Market
• Energy: sustainable, clean energy supply with an emphasis on energy security
• Environment: tackle Global warming
• • Create incentives for investment in green technology
  • International agreement on reducing CO2 emissions and consumption of unsustainable resources
• Immigration: effectively control immigration and end abuse of asylum procedures
• Justice and Home Affairs: oppose EU encroachment into UK's Criminal Justice System
  • Will negotiate a full UK opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR)
• Lisbon Treaty - promise to 'not let matters rest'. Offered "cast iron guarantee" of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but, now that it has been implemented, they instead propose amending the 1972 European Communities Act to 'prohibit the transfer of power to the EU without referenda'.
• Social Policy - restore national control over social and employment legislation
• • Working Time Directive - protect the UK opt-out
  
  
  
  Notes to Editors
  
  How Does the EU work? (See www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts for a detailed guide!)

  In a mixed supranational and intergovernmental model, nation states pass the right to decide on certain issues to the EU but retain the power for independent action in others. Laws proposed by the Commission are passed to the EU Parliament and Council of Ministers to approve.

  EU Commission: the most powerful EU Institution - the only one able to propose EU laws.
  • 27 Commissioners (1 from each EU state) manage an EU policy area for a 5 year term.
  • UK's Catherine Ashton = EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
  • President: José Manuel Barroso (Portugal).
  • 2,000 permanent civil servants based in Brussels.
  
  European Council: directs EU Policy.
  • All EU Heads of State or Govt (e.g. UK Prime Minister), EU Commission President and Council President
  • Hold 4 summits per year (plus emergency summits on specific issues).
  • President: Herman Van Rompuy:
    • Serves 2½ year term (renewable only once).
    • Before 2010, EU states took turns to hold the Presidency for 6 months (e.g. Tony Blair was President July-Dec 2005), but the Lisbon Treaty created the permanent Presidency.
  
  Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) - approves EU law.
  • Government ministers from all 27 EU states (national ministers in charge of policy area being discussed will attend specific councils).
  • Member states take turns to chair ministerial meetings for 6 months (excluding Foreign Affairs meetings, which are led by the EU High Representative).
  
  European Parliament (EP) - approves EU law.
  • 736 MEPs directly elected every 5 years.
  • President: Jerzy Buzek (Poland).
  • The number of MEPs per EU state reflects its population (Britain has 72 MEPs).
  • The EP can't propose legislation, only discuss and vote on laws proposed by the Commission.
  • EP can accept/reject individual Commissioners, and sack the whole Commission.
  
  European Court of Justice (ECJ) - highest EU court, interprets EU treaties and laws
  • 27 judges (1 from each EU state).
  • Rulings are binding for nations and citizens
  
  
  Glossary
  
  Accession -joining the EU (EU enlargement takes place when new states join).
  2004 EU Accession states (A8) - joined the EU in 2004: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Cyprus and Malta.
  Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - subsidies to protect agriculture throughout the EU.
  Common Fisheries Policy (CAP) - making EU fishing grounds a common resource.
  Co-decision: procedure for decisions taken jointly by the EP and Council of Ministers.
  EU27 - all 27 members of the European Union
  European Arrest Warrant (EAW) - Citizens can be charged in another EU country for action that is not a crime in their home country without recourse to the UK courts.
  Eurojust - body enabling EU-wide co-operation between prosecutors and courts
  Europol - body enabling cooperation in international police investigations, has power to request criminal investigations within member states
  Eurozone: used to describe the 16 member states that use the Euro.
  Intergovernmental - governments work together to achieve shared goals.
  Supranational - decisions made by international institutions, not individual states.
  Rebate: refund of part of budget contributions, UK rebate secured by Thatcher in 1984.
  Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) - controls eurozone members' spending and borrowing.
  Subsidiarity - decision-making should be kept as close to the people it affects as possible.
  Supremacy: EU law is superior to national laws when the ECJ has jurisdiction.
  Sovereignty: having the ultimate power to make decisions about your country.
  Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS): cap CO2 emissions allowing firms to buy allowances.
  Subsidy: government money used to keep down prices.
  Opt-out: Member States can be permanently exempt from part of an EU treaty.
  
  Endnotes
  Statistics come from the website of the European Commission. Exceptions are the below:

  [*] 1.www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/eurobarometre/EB68/EB6
  2.http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_274_sum_en.pdf 8_synthese_analytique_en.pdf
  
  [1] Civitas website, February 2006. http://www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts/download/SF.1.Budget.pdf
  [2] European Community Finances: statement on the 2009 EC Budget and measures to counter fraud and financial mismanagement, HM Treasury, July 2009, Cm 7640, pp. 6. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/european_community_finances_2009.pdf
  [3] Ibid, HM Treasury. pp. 25, Table 3.2
  [4] Patrick Hennessy, UK's payments to EU jump by 60 per cent, The Daily Telegraph, 22 August 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6073804/UKs-payments-to-EU-jump-by-60-per-cent.html
  [5] Ibid, HM Treasury. pp. 25.
  [6] Christopher Hope, Tony Blair's decision to cut the EU rebate cost £9.3billion, report shows, The Daily Telegraph, 09 November 2009.
  [7] Q & A: The UK Budget Rebate, BBC, 23 December 2005.
  [8] Parliament adopts EU budget for 2010, EU Parliament Press Release, 17 December 2009
  [9] 2010 budget conciliation: funding of economic recovery plan solved, EU Parliament Press Release, 19 November 2009
  [10] Introduction and Financing of the General Budget, Euro-Lex, 2010, pp. 2.
  [11] Environment and Transport, European Parliamentary Labour Party website.
  [12] Gordon Brown, Speech on Economic and Monetary Union, 27 October 1997.
  [13] UK membership of the single currency: An assessment of the five economic tests, HM Treasury report, Cm 5776, June 2003
  [14] Europe in the World, European Parliamentary Labour Party website, accessed 08 March 2010
  [15] The United Kingdom and the European Social Charter Factsheet, The Council of Europe, January 2010
  

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