Eric Pickles last night accused the European Union of trying to ‘wipe England off the map’ by developing a new cross-Channel region, complete with its own ‘flag’. The Cabinet Minister condemned the EU for ploughing millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into the ‘Arc Manche’, the name given by Brussels to an ambitious attempt to merge Northern France and Southern England.
Mr Pickles, the Local Government Secretary, says he is incensed to have discovered that Eurocrats are planning to roll out a new Arc Manche ‘transnational emblem’ across England.
The logo is described by its designers as a ‘series of concentric circles symbolising the flow of projects . . . and bridges between territories’.
It includes the word Interreg, a contraction of inter-regional – the name of a £1billion-a-year EU initiative to reduce the influence of national borders and increase cooperation between countries. The design will be emblazoned on EU ‘vanity projects’ in the cross-Channel area, including:
* A £7.6million network of ‘cross-Channel’ cycle lanes.
* A £5.5million scheme to pay for circus clowns to perform throughout the Arc Manche region.
* A £2million programme of cross-Channel ‘contemporary art’ tours.
Mr Pickles said he had inherited the plans from the Labour Government.
‘Labour has been conspiring with European bureaucrats to wipe England off the map,’ Mr Pickles said.
‘Massive amounts of taxpayers’ money is being wasted on vanity projects. I intend to fight these plans, stop this waste and protect England’s national and local identities from EU empire-building.’
His outburst comes just days after the EU demanded an extra £682million a year from British taxpayers, taking the UK’s annual contribution to the EU budget to more than £10billion – the equivalent of £400 for every household. Read More
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