Brexit would leave Britain facing an uphill struggle, warns Cameron
Out campaigners attack report on UK’s future inside Europe that points to Russian threat, higher phone bills and trade fears
LEAVING the European Union would make it harder for Britain to combat Russian aggression in eastern Europe, drive up mobile phone bills and could prolong the Ebola crisis, David Cameron has warned.
The Prime Minister was presenting a 40-page report setting out the case for Britain’s “special status” in a reformed EU.
In a foreword to the report, Mr Cameron said he believed the UK “will be safer remaining in a reformed Europe because we can work with our European partners to fight crossborder crime and terrorism, giving us strength in numbers in an increasingly dangerous world”.
He said: “Leaving Europe would threaten our economic and our national security.”
Mr Cameron added that Eurosceptics could not say “if British businesses would be able to access Europe’s free trade single market or if working people’s jobs are safe or how much prices would rise.
“All they are offering is risk at a time of uncertainty – a leap in the dark. I do not believe that would be right for Britain.”
However, Robert Oxley, a spokesman for Vote Leave, said the document claimed “a number of lurid and fantastical claims about the EU”. He said: “The Government shouldn’t be using taxpayers’ money to try and sell its hollow deal to the British people.
“It’s disappointing to see the PM resorting so quickly to trying to scare people into voting for his deal. The document is taxpayer-funded propaganda that contains a number of lurid and fantastical claims about the EU.”
The report, which is part of the Government’s official case for remaining in the EU after the June 23 referendum, made a number of claims about the effect on Britons of leaving the union, which are set out below, together with counter-claims from campaigners and academics.
EU migrants
Claim: European migrants claim 10 per cent of in-work benefits for low-paid workers, even though they only make up 6 per cent of the workforce, the report said.
Quoting Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs statistics, the report said that “of the £25 billion the UK spent in 20132014 on in-work benefits for workers on low incomes, around £2.5 billion went to EEA migrants”.
“This represents 10 per cent of spending, even though people from the EEA [European Economic Area] make up only around 6 per cent of the UK work force.”
Under Mr Cameron’s deal, Britain would be able to apply for a seven-year “emergency brake” under which new migrants will only receive the right to claim in-work benefits gradually over the course of four years.
Counter-claim: The £2.5 billion figure is based on households with at least one European Economic Area migrant, but there is no way of knowing on whose behalf the benefit claim was made, Jonathan Portes from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said.
There is no indication if these benefits were claimed before or after living in Britain for four years – the key cut-off point for the Prime Minister’s “emergency brake”, he added.
Experts say that given these two things there is little way of knowing how much spending on migrant benefits actually would drop if the “emergency brake” was adopted.
Trade deals
Claim: Trade deals could be threatened. The document, quoting figures from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, said that staying in the European Union and concluding all the trade deals already under way could ultimately be worth in total more than £20 billion a year to Britain.
Counter-claim: Campaigners Vote Leave said that since the UK joined the European Economic Community in 1973, the EU has failed to conclude trade agreements with India, China, Brazil, New Zealand or Australia.
By contrast, Iceland and Switzerland – both nations which are far smaller than the UK – have concluded a free trade agreement with China.
Iran, Russia and Ebola
Claim: By remaining in the EU, Britain has “played a leading role in securing strong EU-wide sanctions when we needed them against Russia and Iran. We have been at the forefront of the EU’s efforts to tackle the spread of Ebola in Africa.”
Counter-claim: European Union action has done little to deter Russian aggression in Ukraine, while the United States and Canada have imposed sanctions on Moscow, Vote Leave said.
On Ebola, campaigners pointed out it was possible to cooperate to prevent disease outside the EU.
For example, Norway provided support, including aircraft, health workers and donations, to combat Ebola.
Other international organisations have played a far more significant role in fighting the Ebola outbreak, notably the World Health Organisation.
Mobile phone bills
Claim: Leaving the EU could see mobile phone charges increasing, the Government said.
Last year ministers agreed a deal to end mobile phone roaming charges, saving UK consumers £350 million a year.
The document said Britain’s place in Europe “allows the UK to keep costs down for UK-based businesses and consumers, for example, by cutting the cost of mobile roaming charges and passenger air fares throughout Europe”.
Counter-claim: Vote Leave questioned the accuracy of the figure, pointing out that the estimate was not based on any published research but rather on “internal government analysis”.
‘It’s disappointing to see the PM resorting so quickly to trying to scare people into voting for his deal’