An Italian 'handbook' uncovering
fake news about the European Union has come out in English.
The book, Euxit, emergency exit for Europe, was written by
Roberto Sommella, the Director of External Relations of the
Italian Antitrust Authority, the founder of La Nuova Europa, and
honorary citizen of Ventotene, home of the namesake European
Manifesto.
The book is published by Rubbettino and it can be downloaded
in an e-Book version -
http://www.store.rubbettinoeditore.it/euxit-emergency-exit-fo-eu
rope.html
At a crucial time for the EU, when each election is a
referendum on the euro and the Union, Sommella counters the
arguments of those who wish to return to national borders and
currencies, starting from the effects of Brexit on British
financial markets, with the aim of dismantling three stereotypes
about migrants, the countries that profit from ECB policies and
those who would like to withdraw from the EU.
As regards migration flows, he argues that we are not facing
an invasion.
According to UN data in the World Population Prospects,
migratory flows in Europe from 2000 to 2010 were of 1.2 million
people per year.
That is 0.2% of the EU's population of 500 million.
Nothing we cannot handle, given that the United States
reached one million in the same period, he says.
Even in Italy, some clichés have to be dismantled, Sommella
writes.
In spite of three billion euros in expenditure to manage the
refugee emergency, the benefits of migratory flows are
significant.
In 2014, social security contributions paid by non-EU workers
in Italy amounted to approximately eight billion euros while
about 642 million went out for pension benefits and 2.420
billion for non-retirement pensions (unemployment, sick leave,
maternity leave, family allowances), making for a surplus of
about 4.5 billion euros.
The financial contribution of migrants who are fully
integrated into the social and productive system is positive in
terms of taxes too.
Foreign taxpayers declared incomes of 45.6 billion in 2014,
paying 6.8 billion in income taxes.
The book also undoes the myth which says that Italy is the
the main beneficiary of Mario Draghi's 'bazooka' when discussing
the effects of the ECB Quantitative Easing.
Comparing the variables recorded early in 2015 (the year of
the launch of the QE) with more recent data, it turns out that
Germany is the one that has benefited the most from the monetary
policy of Frankfurt, he says.
Euxit also looks at who spends more and who has gained more
from participating in the Union.
Each German has "spent" 1,034 euros for Europe, the Italians
stopped at 623 per capita, while the Spaniards each received up
to 335 euros, the Poles 1,522, the Portuguese 2,100, Greece
2,960 euros net per Greek citizen.
However, turning to the allocation of EU structural
resources, we find that the percentage of funds granted to
Central and Eastern Europe (from 177.57 to 180.93 billion, up
2.6%) is increasing compared to Western Europe (from 169 billion
to 140 current, down 16%), he says.
Therefore in the same Eastern European countries where new
walls are being built against migrants, EU structural transfers
have become more and more important, accounting for between 2
and 3% of GDP.
Sommella calls for the drafting of a European Constitution,
the strengthening of the European Parliament's powers and the
reform of the EU electoral law to allow voters to choose
directly the President of the Commission.
Only then will it be possible to go from the present
Confederation to a true Federation of states, abandoning this
Middle Earth, similar to the situation that led to the explosion
of the Former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, Sommella argues.
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