Yet more lavish political spending

The European Parliament has voted for a 6% budget rise. David Cameron, supported by 12 EU nations, including France and Germany, is campaigning for a smaller 2.9% increase. The draft 2011 budget set by the European Commission is £112bn. This week research by campaigning organisation Open Europe has revealed where some of this money has been squandered... I mean, spent.

A Hungarian company got £350,000 of Euro-dosh last year to build new facilities to "improve the lifestyle and living standard of dogs" using hydrotherapy, a project which didn't even materialise. How did this project ever get signed off? What is wrong with Hungarian hounds that water treatment will fix, where did the money go and who is responsible? These questions will probably stay rhetorical due to the EU culture of secrecy, corruption and unaccountability.

The EU's Rural Development Fund is not just a dog's best friend. Over the border in Austria, Tyrolean farmers got £14,000 to "increase farmers' emotional connection with the landscapes they cultivate". Yet more questions remain unanswered, like why is this necessary and how has its effectiveness been measured? Are their lederhosen shining more brightly?

Open Europe highlighted that less esoteric and weird spending also continues apace, including £4.5 million on extra limousines for MEPs when the European parliament is sitting in France. That is on top of the permanent fleet in Brussels. Not only does having two Parliaments cost an extra £171 million a year of our hard-earned cash, it also contributes up to 30,000 tonnes of C02 a year to the atmosphere. Remember the EU positions itself as a global leader in the fight against climate change, with a commitment to reducing emissions by 20%.

It's been said that politics is show business for ugly people, which sort of makes the EU the VIP club you just can't get into (even though you've paid the entrance price). These are politicians who live lavish, expense-funded lifestyles and face far less scrutiny than their national equivalents. This week the Supreme Court upheld the judgment that three Labour MPs will face court for an expenses fiddle that wouldn't register in Europe. By the way, the VIP club has become a literal reality now as an officials-only cultural centre was opened in Luxembourg at a cost of £4.4 million. Facilities include an exclusive restaurant, Scottish Highland dancing and wine-tasting clubs. If your name's not down...

The wage increases announced by the European Commission this week didn't sound too excessive at 0.4 per cent, but they were combined with a reduction in pension contributions to a scheme that allows the average EU official to retire aged 60 on £57,000 a year. This is the sort of retirement package only BBC executives can expect to receive and bears no relation to the economic realities facing European citizens.

Talking of the BBC (see previous blog) there seems to be some parallels between two organisations which are publicly funded and were established to achieve laudable objectives, that have become perverted and warped by management greed, leaving themselves open to attack from an array of powerful enemies and Daniel Hannan MEP. Due to the failure of the BBC Director General Mark Thompson to reform excessive executive pay, the BBC was poleaxed in the cuts by the government on the orders of Rupert Murdoch (budget frozen for six years and being made responsible for funding the World Service). A harsh fate more befitting the EU - an organisation that, unlike the BBC, provides little in tangible benefits to life in Britain. We know that the BBC makes radio and television programmes, but ask most people what the European Commission is responsible for and what their MEP has done for them lately and you'll be met with a blank stare. Whatever it is they're up to they need another £450m of UK tax to do it, and that's if David Cameron can haggle them down to the 2.9% rise.

MEPs and the Commission argue that the 6% increase is necessary to fund changes brought in by the Lisbon Treaty, such as the new EU diplomatic service, which sounds like more unaffordable and unaccountable jobs for the boys. Conveniently the Treaty gave MEPs real power to influence the budget, for the first time in the EU's history allowing them to demand rises when everyone else is forced to cut back.

Being appalled by lavishly funded waste and inefficiency is not the same thing as wanting to retreat from the European Union or to blame other nations. (People in any other European country are equally as revolted by the behaviour of the Eurocrat elite.) It is time Britain became a force for reform and built alliances with other countries to beat corruption and efficiency. The Coalition has already cut too much here so perhaps they could pack Euro-insider and general hate figure Nick Clegg back off to Europe and set him to work doing something useful.