Daniel Hannan: the Lisbon Agenda fallacy

Daniel Hannan, Conservative MEP for South East England and member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, speaking on December 8th 2009 at the Sixth Annual International Leaders Summit, Brussels.

Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boMTNjj-YfE

From the point of view of the last five hundred years of history, and from the point of view of recent events, it is clear that those countries whose governments have bought into the E.U. face a bleak economic future. The way forward must be competition with a hands-off approach from governments, Hannan argues - something that has been rendered fundamentally impossible by the burgeoning superstate, in spite of all its promises:

"... just as the Asian powers are learning the benefits of decentralisation, and devolution, and competition, we are adopting our own version of the Ming / Moghal / Ottoman path towards ever-closer union, harmonisation, more bureaucracy, more rules, higher taxes.

"... We are in a massive regional decline, and the reason for that is that we have forgotten the basis of our own continent's success, our contribution to the happiness of humanity, namely the precepts of personal freedom, pluralism, variety and diversity.

"Now, here's a hard thing that needs saying: that mistake, this absence of competitiveness is intrinsic in the model of political integration. You can't have it both ways, you can't say: 'Yes, I'm all for a strong and powerful European Union but of course the European Union must be more competitive'. This is, let's call it the Lisbon Agenda fallacy, the idea that you can get the political union, but still have the economic competitiveness. We have tested that proposition, my friends, we have empirical evidence that it doesn't work, and it doesn't work for reasons that are, I'm afraid, unmissable, inexorable, and the reasons are this: competitiveness will always encourage more prosperity, more freedom, more innovation, whereas centralisation is an alternative to competitiveness.

"In a system of competing jurisdictions, you can raise your taxes up to a certain level before the money starts going abroad because it no longer suits people to remain within your jurisdiction. But within a system where there is tax harmonisation, there is an alternative to the painful process of cutting spending and reducing the fiscal burden on people, you can simply export your costs to everyone else within the bloc, which, of course, is what is happening now in the European Union."

ECR Group's website:
http://www.ecrgroup.eu

Daniel Hannan's blog:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/author/danielhannan

Other relevant sites:
http://www.tpuc.org
http://www.ukcolumn.org
https://www.thebcgroup.org.uk
http://www.cpexposed.com
http://www.stopcp.com
http://www.statewatch.org
http://www.no2id.net
http://www.eurofaq.freeuk.com
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com
http://www.eutruth.org.uk
http://www.eu-facts.org

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[CyberSpaceman81]

@MarkB1ngham btw.... Government spending has gone up to 15 Trillion in debt now here in the US. So why should anyone except for those beholden to big government "breadcrumb" entitlements want them spend any more of our money? With the terrible drop out rates in the Liberal lead intercity public education system and their then being pushed into the government supplied "public" sector culture, why should we want more of this Liberal progressive transformation to collective debt?

[CyberSpaceman81]

@MarkB1ngham Utopia? What in the sam hell are you talking about? A truly pure free republic of limited government and unfettered Capitalism is no utopia and isn't trying to be. It is a system just trying to provide a place of freedom where ALL people in it can work hard for themselves and keep what they generate. Liberals think government spending "for" them is good, Yet it is government alone who can take more of what is yours at whim by mandate of taxation.

[GSDebunked]

cannot get enough of hannan, thumbs up

[MarkB1ngham]

Can you green/make sustainable capitalism/unfettered capitalism? rhetorical question!! as in the real world there is no such thing as profit, you cannot get something for nothing...eg the brewing industry, if they had to clear up ALL their mess(as they should) would there be ANY luvverly profit? they'd run at a loss paying for the violence, illness, misery etc etc costs of their product. Am I right Mr Hannan?

I'm sceptical of ANY utopias left right or centre

[BiffaTW]

@harj2009 No It didnt XD We abandoned slavery before america did; we were very unadvanced in war but we had some miraculous victories and good generals we were not warlike particularly at all, but what we were is enterprising. Think about it what was our first major foothold, America we got kicked out when trying to be arbtrary so what next a TRADING company called The East India whcih developed in the empire based on wealth, thats why it lasted and has a legacy today in the commonWEALTH.

[harj2009]

@BiffaTW no america dismantled you empire

The Russian empire got loans and aid and a much more favourable rate, the British Empire was a rival of the USA.

Post Imperial Age was coming anyway, but the speed at which you had to withdraw and it demanded by America

what made GB great was the use of organised violence and cold heart oh and something calling SLAVERY

[BiffaTW]

@harj2009 No they did not exactly 'kick our ass out', if you look youll find that they wanted us out so we relinqiushed power in the post-imperial age; with many staying to form the common wealth. Spending on public services only works temporarily you need to build independant and strong citezenry to make a strong economy. Thats what made Britain and evetually made the empire based on adventure and global trade.

[harj2009]

the rest of world ie China was to busy trying to feed it self living in a bad climate, europeans were also much more bloody and dirty

typical conservative bullshit blame every wrong in the world on higher taxation and regulation

[harj2009]

@BiffaTW no u stopped being a world power because the people you colonised kicked ur ass out , and Hitler bankrupted your country by forcing you take expensive loans from Jewish Bankers in New York + you spend less money on war and more on better public services

[harj2009]

the credit crunch is evidence the free market has failed