Is the EU really a club anyone still wants to be a member of – let alone rejoin?

The Commission announces its 40 latest actions for ignoring EU Directives

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2023

EU’s “rule of law” broken by 25 out of 27 member countries

The EU claims to be a place where “the rule of law” prevails. It has made many claims against Brexit Britain for allegedly breaking its agreements involving laws, directives and rules.

In yet another example of its dictatorship and hypocrisy, on Friday (27 Jan 2023) the Commission announced its latest ‘infringement decisions’ against almost all of its member countries.

(If you’re short of time, scan the report but then we recommend reading the ‘Observations’ at the bottom in full.)

We reveal the transgressors and ask why the laws were necessary in the first place

Facts4EU.Org names the EU countries and summarises the rules they are supposed to have broken.

This report involves three separate EU directives in the fields of taxation, the customs union, justice and public health. In a further twist, the Commission refers to four Directives and then only lists three.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The countries alleged to have transgressed

[Source: EU Commission announcement released Fri 27 Jan 2023.]

Austria
Belgium x 2
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus x 3
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia x 2
Finland
France
Germany
Greece x 2
Ireland

Italy x 2
Latvia x 2
Lithuania
Luxembourg x 2
Malta
Poland x 2
Portugal x 2
Romania x 2
Slovakia x 2
Slovenia
Spain x 2
Sweden

25 countries, 40 offences

The above 25 EU member countries are accused of 40 offences in total. In fact, the only two member countries not in the dock this time are the Netherlands, and – ironically - the EU Commission’s favourite villain, Viktor Orban’s Hungary.

The accusations

The Commission is adopting a package of infringement decisions due to the absence of communication by Member States of measures taken to transpose EU directives into national law. The Commission is sending a letter of formal notice to those Member States who have failed to notify national measures transposing directives.

The offences described in the announcement

1. “Tackling tax evasion: new rules for administrative cooperation between tax authorities in the context of use of digital platforms by taxpayers”

“In March 2021, the Council adopted an amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (Directive (EU) 2021/514 – DAC7). Under DAC7, digital platforms such as websites and mobile apps, which allow taxpayers to sell goods, offer online and offline personal services, or rent out immovable property or means of transport, have to report those taxpayers and their economic activities.”

2. “Consumer protection: protecting the collective interests of consumers though the mechanism of representative actions”

“The Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828 seeks to ensure that all European consumers fully benefit from their rights under Union law. It will empower qualified entities to launch representative actions on behalf of consumers and introduce stronger sanctioning powers for Member States' consumer authorities.”

3. “EU plant legislation: conditions for examination of certain varieties of agricultural plants and vegetables”

“In June 2022, the Directive (EU) 2022/905 amended the conditions for examination and the characteristics to be covered by such examination in relation to certain varieties of agricultural plants and vegetables.”

Observations

This latest example of the EU Commission’s autocracy and absurdity serves to demonstrate several key reasons why the United Kingdom was absolutely right to leave the European Union’s empire.

Firstly, the report above makes a mockery of the EU Commission’s claim to be a place where “the rule of law” prevails. The above offences are but the tip of the iceberg, as have reported before. In the case of Friday’s announcement only two member countries have obeyed the rules.

Secondly, the deadlines for compliance set by the Commission were Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. (Really.) And member countries are only between three to four weeks late.

Thirdly, the EU Commission is in essence a civil service. Its Commissioners and staff are not elected by popular mandate and are subject to minimal control by the leaders of the EU27 at the EU Council meetings. Nevertheless they are the only body in the EU that proposes new laws – the elected members of the EU Parliament cannot.

Fourthly, the unelected, power-mad Commission does not so much suffer from ‘mission creep’ as ‘mission tsunami’, in the imposition of its will in ever-increasing areas of each nation’s life – and that of ordinary people. Taking the first example above, what on earth is the Commission doing, demanding that member countries’ governments pass EU laws regarding income tax rules in their own countries?

And what of the third example, where the Commission wants to set the rules for inspecting vegetables. We seem to be back to “the wrong shaped bananas” again.

Fifthly, the EU has taken legal action against the UK and is threatening to take more. All the while it takes a lofty attitude, especially in the case of Northern Ireland where there is a prima facie case that the EU’s actions have broken the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and are thereby endangering the hard-won peace there. At the same time it is clear that the EU’s member countries do not obey the Commission’s own laws.

As we asked at the start of this report: Is the EU really a club anyone still wants to be a member of – let alone rejoin?”

We must get reports like this out there

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[ Sources: EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 30 Jan 2023

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Reader Comments 26

1. Sparky , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 06:57:

This really is a funny article. Especially when it mentions bendy bananas, a very old myth of the brexitears. Brexitears expected other EU countries to follow the UK by leaving but seeing the damage Brexit is causing even Marine La Pen is not going there.
Intersting and balanced debate on BBC Newsnight last night debating Brexit.
Concerning forecast from the IMF published this morning.
Good piece on Reuters, "Three Years on Britain still waits for Brexit dividend.
The realities of Brexit.

2. Sparky , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 07:21:

And also a report on Bloomberg, “Brexit is costing the UK economy £100 billion a year in lost productivity”. That’s £1.9bn per week, a bit more than the inflated £350m

3. Have You Wondered , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:06:

Thank you Facts4EU for highlighting the subject.
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Interesting that, as I understand it, the commissioners are appointed by their relevant nation. (The Economist has a good article on this) So how on earth did so much legislation get passed in the EU if the UK hand a complicit hand? Who was overseeing the Commissioners? Why did Kinnock get reprimanded by the UK Govt. for firing Marta Andreason?
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Continued
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4. Have You Wondered , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:14:

DELETED - PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE LINKS OR REFERENCES TO OTHER MEDIA
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5. Captain Thunderbolt , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:15:

2. Sparky , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 07:21:
And also a report on Bloomberg, “Brexit is costing the UK economy £100 billion a year in lost productivity”. That’s £1.9bn per week, a bit more than the inflated £350m
-
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How do you know that the economy would be where you think it would be if the UK did not leave the EU?

6. Sparky , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:19:

Fifthly, above - Johnson (slang version) agreed the NI Protocol with the EU and rushed the deal through parliament not allowing the scrutiny it should have had. Don’t make out that the NIP was forced on the UK, it wasn’t. Johnson agreed to put a border between GB and NI and then went on to tell exporters to tear up any forms, he didn’t understand what he had agreed to and then lied to sell it.

7. Sparky , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:27:

5 CT. it’s not me reporting on the economy, it’s Bloomberg Economists. Read the report, it says at the end that Brexit impact on trade isn’t as bad as expected, it’s still bad but not as a bad as expected. No sign of the sunlit uplands that people voted for. See you tomorrow.

8. Have You Wondered , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:32:

Sparky.
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Your references to the economy, whilst admirable in that you take the time, at the end of the day are, in my opinion, pointless.
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The root of practically all the electorates misfortune in politics and consequently the economy - corruption.
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And corrupt the EU certainly is. Evidenced by:
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The 'EU Supertanker' is out of control with its history of trading goods (in decline?) that was meant to bring peace.That was it's founding tenet, that looks like being severely compromised, being replaced by political and military ambition. As recent Russian events prove - they are clearly inept.
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Indeed, not only corrupt but with being a dictatorship hiding behind a veneer of democracy.
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Mikhail Gorbachev is alleged to have said:
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" The European Union is the old Soviet Union dressed in Western clothes "
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Whether he said it or not (I can find lots of reference, even being quoted in the EU parliament, but no proof) - however - it does hit the nail on the head.
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Show me a nation where dictatorship benefited the electorate?
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Consequently, quote all the economic statistics you wish, the fact the UK abandoned the EU the UK has shrugged off one level of corruption and must now deal with the subject within it's own territory to the benefit, equally, of all the electorate.
.

9. Lorraine , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:49:

No one knows what the future economic reality will be, not even economists. They are hardwired to always get things wrong and have a century of failure behind them. Seems if this holds true we'll do just fine outside the EU.
[LINKS DELETED]
'Of course the “No Deal” predictions were absurd from the start because they said they could predict GDP for 15 years hence. No economist can do this. Few can predict 18 months hence.'
[LINKS DELETED]
In 2015 the ONS reported "the absence of productivity growth in the seven years since 2007 is unprecedented in the postwar period." We were not doing well at all.
In 2014 we started our economic recovery, but even though Britain grew faster than any other advanced economy, productivity was still lower than in 2007 and China, classed as "developing", grew faster than the UK (4 times bigger) as did India.
Even in 2015 there was a massive productivity gap between the UK and other developed countries despite the UK economy growing quite fast relative to similar economies, but even back then forecasts were not all bright and raised issues of sustainability. It seems those issues, unrelated to Brexit, were not unfounded. However, memories are short and Brexit is a convenient scapegoat for Remainers.

10. Lorraine , Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 08:51:

72.2% of the electorate turned out to vote in the 2016 referendum, eight percentage points higher than in 1975. Interestingly, despite the size of the electorate increasing by more than 6,000,000 over the intervening years, and approximately 8,000,000 more of the electorate voting in 2016, Remain didn't gain any votes, in fact they not only didn't gain a single extra vote they received over 1,200,000 fewer votes than in 1975. After experiencing the insidious creep of EU control we know what we voted against.

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