Reacting to the revelation that the new EU president, Herman Van Rompuy, supports a new Euro tax to fund the EU, DUP MEP Diane Dodds said:
"The news that the new EU President, Mr. Van Rompuy, wants a tax to fund the European Union should come as no surprise. The agenda is the same as it has been for years, to develop the European Union into a fully functioning state step by step. It demonstrates why the DUP was right to oppose the Lisbon Treaty and right to seek its de-ratification.
A Euro tax will just feed the culture of waste and inefficiency that lies at the heart of the European Union: a culture that will see the UK's net contributions double this year.
The government and Gordon Brown in particular have significant questions to answer about why Van Rompuy was backed for the post. Were they unaware of his comments to the Bilderberg Group? If so, this is a significant failure on the part of the Foreign Office. If they did know then they must make clear why they supported a candidate with such unacceptable views.
Tory comments of concern will be treated with legitimate scepticism. The last hope against the Lisbon Treaty and the creation of an EU president was the pledge of a UK referendum. What did David Cameron honestly expect from the EU but more of the same when he caved on his cast-iron guarantee? The net result of the Tory cave-in has been to extinguish any hope of stopping the post of President coming in to being. Thanks for nothing Dave."
