Putting the cart before the horse

"This is about much more than money. This is about vision for Europe. Because before we decide how to spend money in the European Union, we need to decide on the results we want," Mr Barroso said.

Wot? They've been going for fifty years and haven't yet decided which results they want?

Can somebody tell them that the best results can be achieved at zero- or negative cost, i.e. cut EU budget, shut down all the quangos, scrap all the regulations (especially on agriculture); scrap all the barriers to free trade (esp. with non-EU countries); scrap all the harmonsation*; scrap the CAP, give us our fishing grounds back; stop this ridiculous system of taking our money and then giving 76% of it back (see 'Myth 4' here).

In fact, replace the whole thing with ... er ... a Europe-wide free trade agreement.

And "decide how to spend"?? They don't know where half the money went in the last ten years, they might try sorting that out first.

*If the Germans want to keep their beer purity laws, fine, if the Brits want to drink it in pints, no problem. And so on. If you want to sell abroad, sure, you'll have to meet that country's standards, is all.