Quango hypocrisy

Euro-MP Paul Nuttall

MEP Paul Nuttall has hit .out at EU hypocrisy over the cost of quangos

His comments follow a briefing by Open Europe showing that the cost of EU quangos to European taxpayers has risen by 33% over two years and now stands at €2.64bn.

"This is a prime example of the EU wasting money on funding more bureaucracy while demanding other people and our own Government cut spending," said Mr Nuttall, local Euro-MP and UKIP deputy leader.

"It is plain that when the EU demands spending cuts it excludes itself - what utter hypocrisy.

"The UK taxpayer has been the fall-guy funding the EU for too long. The best way the UK can save money is to stop giving this wasteful EU 50million pounds a day," he said.

Mr Nuttall’s remarks came ahead of today's publication of the EU Commission's proposed budget for 2013 which called for an increase in spending.

Open Europe has published an updated briefing assessing the effectiveness and cost of the EU’s 52 agencies and committees. The total cost to European taxpayers of these bodies now stands at €2.64bn (£2.17bn), up 3.4% from last year and a massive 33.2% compared with 2010.

This comes as UK Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander announces that government departments at home will have to find even more cuts.

Open Europe research analyst Pawel Swidlicki said: “While some of these EU quangos perform valuable work, many others serve no practical purpose whatsoever apart from soaking up taxpayers’ money. Ironically, many of these bodies would never have survived the type of austerity programmes that the EU is now drawing up for member states as Europe fights through its worst crisis in a generation.”