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The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking Control of Our Lives [Paperback]

David Craig (Author), Matthew Elliott (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 5 Mar 2009 | ISBN-10: 1847945708 | ISBN-13: 978-1847945709

In this EU election year, it's time for people across Europe to look at what really goes on in Brussels in our name.

It has been estimated that the EU costs us around £1,000 billion a year - an incredible £2000 for every man, woman and child in Europe. So what do we get for our money? Politicians and administrators selflessly working to bring us efficient government? Well-targeted regulations that promote economic prosperity? A safe and free society? A well-protected environment? Help for people in poorer countries?

Or is our money being squandered by a self-serving euro-elite of unaccountable politicians and incompetent bureaucrats, or else devoured in a feeding frenzy of fraud and corruption where a few lucky insiders become unimaginably rich at our expense? And is the tsunami of regulation pouring out of Brussels in reality strangling industry, destroying jobs, restricting personal freedom, desecrating the environment and further impoverishing the developing world?

Using their extensive network of insider sources, David Craig and Matthew Elliott smash through the secrecy and disinformation that are the Brussels hallmark to reveal what our European rulers are really getting up to. The result is a horrifying story of bureaucracy, hypocrisy and kleptocracy - and how we are all suffering as a result.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Random House Books (5 Mar 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1847945708
  • ISBN-13: 978-1847945709
  • Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 19.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 51,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Book Description

A devastating indictment of EU waste and corruption, from the bestselling author of Squandered

From the Back Cover

In this EU election year, it's time for people across Europe to look at what really goes on in Brussels in our name.

It has been estimated that the EU costs us around £1,000 billion a year - an incredible £2000 for every man, woman and child in Europe. So what do we get for our money? Politicians and administrators selflessly working to bring us efficient government? Well-targeted regulations that promote economic prosperity? A safe and free society? A well-protected environment? Help for people in poorer countries?

Or is our money being squandered by a self-serving euro-elite of unaccountable politicians and incompetent bureaucrats, or else devoured in a feeding frenzy of fraud and corruption where a few lucky insiders become unimaginably rich at our expense? And is the tsunami of regulation pouring out of Brussels in reality strangling industry, destroying jobs, restricting personal freedom, desecrating the environment and further impoverishing the developing world?

Using their extensive network of insider sources, David Craig and Matthew Elliott smash through the secrecy and disinformation that are the Brussels hallmark to reveal what our European rulers are really getting up to. The result is a horrifying story of bureaucracy, hypocrisy and kleptocracy - and how we are all suffering as a result.

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Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
17 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A chilling and scary book 10 Oct 2011
By Mr. M. Kostyrka
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The only occasion that the EU seem to show any degree of efficiency is when they have to deal with a whistle blower who is quickly silenced and discredited- this is '1984' good and proper... This is a frightening and chilling scenario which has been planned for very many years. The thing is that very few employees of the EU are going to blow whistles or rock the boat as it's quite plain to see there was method in the madness of the salaries and benefits paid out from the very beginning which very effectively bought the silence and compliance of all those involved.
The book shows how the EU is corrupt from top to bottom and how employees of the EU either comply or get out. The book also gives clues to the idea that the so called 'elite' want to dispose of the lower end of society or at the very least marginalize them. One can only hope that the current economic situation will at least slow the plans of this evil cabal, but sadly the situation will most likely be used as an excuse to introduce more regulation and control.
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49 of 56 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading before June Euro elections 1 April 2009
By K. T. O'Reilly
Format:Paperback
This is the third book I've read by David Craig. The others were Plundering the Public Sector, which revealed how much private consultants have dipped into our taxes under Labour, and Squandered, which took a broader look at Gordon Brown's overtaxing and overspending. Both books are well worth reading, especially in light of the current controversies over public-sector trough-snouting and Brown's economic skills.

This one is more vital. It is the most readable (300 pages in good, plain English) yet comprehensive guide available to what the EU is doing with our money and, more importantly, doing to democracy in Europe.

The EU is not popular in Britain, something which is too often put down to media scaremongering. Our media certainly does scaremonger very well but sometimes when there is smoke, there is fire. This book coolly and often wittily sets out the truth behind the bureaucracy, the over-regulation, the power-grabbing, the troughing and the often mad policies (the Common Fisheries Policy is mind-boggling!) with references so you can do your own research if you feel sceptical. And the scary thing is the truth is a fair bit worse than what the Sun or the Daily Mail print. In fact you may wonder why these papers waste print with stories about straight bananas while ignoring much more serious scandals like the Common Agricultural Policy and the Biofuels debacle.

In June we vote for our MEPs - their toothlessness is another topic covered - and in this election we get our only real say in how Europe is run. You will have the choice between supine Europhiles or people prepared to stand up and try and change things (like current YouTube celebrity Daniel Hannan). Read this and learn what is at stake before you vote.
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38 of 48 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant assault on the undemocratic EU 31 Mar 2009
By William Podmore
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a scathing analysis of the EU's corruption and power-grabbing, led by Britain's ruling class. The authors, David Craig, a management consultant and author, and Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, show how the EU strangles industry, destroys jobs, cuts personal freedoms, wrecks the environment and impoverishes developing countries.

The EU Commissioners get £1.7 million for their five-year term. MEPs get vast salaries, expenses and pensions - £2.1 million for five years. Britain's MEPs are to get a 32% pay rise this June and a new tax rate of 13-17%, halving their taxes.

Under the Common Agricultural Policy, Scotland's biggest landowners get £230,000 a year each. 85% of the CAP's annual £62 billion budget goes to the richest 18% of farms. The CAP also subsidises EU exports to the third world, and puts duties on their imports to us. For every pound of EU aid, the CAP takes away two.

Last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU's freedom of movement laws entitled foreign workers to get Irish benefits even after they had returned home. The Court's remit is to promote EU integration; the only way to change any of its decisions is for all 27 member state governments to agree to do so.

After the French and Danish Noes to the EU Constitution, the EU's leaders, Blair included, absurdly claimed "the results do not call into question citizens' attachment to the constitution of Europe." Brown is still trying to sneak through the Constitution without a referendum, in the Lisbon Treaty. As a senior British civil servant said in 1971, "Of course this is the end of British democracy as we have known it, but if it is properly handled the people won't know what's happened until the end of the century.... Read more ›
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A sobering assessment of the EU and all its folly 25 Feb 2011
By Neil Kernohan
Format:Paperback
If you want to know just how much incompetence, waste, corruption, mass deception and downright skullduggery goes on in the cause of the so called European Union dream read this book. The writers apply the scalpel to the EU budget (plundered, badly managed and impossible to audit), MEPs (overpaid, politically impotent and useless), Commission over-regulation (illogical, oppressive and anti-democratic), the CAP (the most stupid idea since Stalin's collectivisation) and the Lisbon Treaty (a gigantic con trick pulled on the people of Europe by a bunch of elitist, arrogant, power grabbing bureaucrats accountable to no one but themselves). Even the most ardent Europhile must admit that the EU is in bad shape and no longer serving the people's interests as it was intended to do.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars EU get out of it
Get out of the EU now don't leave it till tomorrow. No doubt this paints the worst picture but even so,who wants to be dictated to by Brussels . Read more
Published 18 days ago by ERIC D.C. BETTS
4.0 out of 5 stars The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking...
Ignore UKIP if you must - the truth is confirmed in this book! Vote OUT if Dave ever allows we cattle a vote
Published 2 months ago by R. Mackenzie
5.0 out of 5 stars The true nature of the EU monster
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what really goes on in the EU.

Just who benefits from all the EU red-tape is laid bare.
Published 8 months ago by James
5.0 out of 5 stars UK I P (UK rip)
The UK Independence Party wants out of the EU.
I voted for them.
This Book is full of shocking stories about the EU. Read more
Published on 5 April 2011 by Billy Ray Cyrus
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book - Opens your eyes to the EU
A really interesting book based on fact.
It opens your eyes to what goes on behind the scenes in the EU.
A must-read for every European.
Published on 7 Feb 2011
1.0 out of 5 stars Hysterical, self-righteous rant
Tedious, obnoxious propaganda that does exactly what it says on the tin. If you hate the EU and want to be congratulated for it, this is the book for you. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2010 by Sima Jieming
5.0 out of 5 stars Time our government started resisting European control
This is a scary book, even for a euro-sceptic. The scale of the European kleptocracy, arrogance, waste, self-promotion and deceit is staggering, and involves... Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by Ken Grew
1.0 out of 5 stars Almost completely baseless...
I bought this in an attempt to understand both sides of the argument. Unfortunately it becomes somewhat apparent from reading just the first few pages that this account is not... Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2009 by M. Odell
1.0 out of 5 stars Seperated from fact and reality
I bought this wanting to read a euro-skeptic view of the European Union. However i did at least expect it to have a basis in fact. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2009 by J. Nichols
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a book to be read by every European
Its time people woke up to the dangers of the EUSSR. People who have lived through the Russian soviet era say we are building another Soviet, just look on YouTube and you will find... Read more
Published on 22 July 2009 by B. J. A. Searle
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