The Eu’s so sweet for some

Screaming and kicking, EU countries are being forced to reveal who gets most of the £50 billion paid out each year under the EU’s discredited Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The first results are shocking for taxpayers and confirm what many people have long suspected – each year the CAP takes tens of billions from hard-working taxpayers to give to the very rich. Some of the biggest beneficiaries are Europe’s largest sugar companies. In 2008, two Italian sugar producers really hit the jackpot. Italia Zuccheri got 139.8  million euros (£126 million) of our cash, while rival Italian company picked up a healthy 125.3 million (£113 million). Also up there with the winners was Britain’s very own Tate and Lyle which receives over £120 million a year of our cash to keep its directors in the style to which they have become accustomed.

 

The EU claims the aim of the CAP is “to ensure that farmers make a decent living”. However around £43 billion of the CAP’s £50 billion goes straight into the bank accounts of Europe’s largest food companies and wealthiest landowners, while the average real farmer receives less than £5,000 a year. 

 

It’s a pity that none of our politicians have ever had the courage to stop this scandalous embezzlement of taxpayers’ money by the rich and powerful.