From Andrew Jameson:
This weekly digest of news on Britain and Europe, with a pro-European
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----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Bradley <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 1:51 PM
Subject: e-News from Britain in Europe and the European Movement
CONTENTS SUMMARY
1. Public calls for more euro info
The launch of euro cash has provided enormous momentum to British
pro-Europeans. A Britain in Europe survey found that four out of five people
feel badly informed about the euro so it is vital that we continue to spread
our message and build on our success.
2. Inflation virtually unchanged by euro launch
High street prices across the euro-zone have remained virtually unchanged
since euro cash was launched. Anti-European scare-mongering predicting huge
price rises have been confounded by newly-released inflation figures.
3. Foreign investment at risk out of the euro - Lord Haskins
Investment into Britain is increasingly at risk if we stay out of the euro
according to Lord Haskins, former chairman of Northern Foods.
4. Millions of Britons already spending euro cash
One in 14 Britons has already got their hands on euro cash since the new
notes and coins were launched a month ago, according to a survey by Credit
Suisse First Boston.
5. 'No' lobby chair can't stand the heat
Dr David Owen - the much-travelled political journeyman - has decided to
turn his back on Iain Duncan Smith's 'No' lobby.
MORE DETAILS
1. PUBLIC CALLS FOR MORE EURO INFO
The launch of euro cash has provided enormous momentum to British
pro-Europeans. A Britain in Europe survey found that four out of five people
feel badly informed about the euro so it is vital that we continue to spread
our message and build on our success.
Thousands of people up and down the country now receive e-News each week and
each month more and more people sign up to receive the latest news from the
patriotic pro-European campaign.
To ensure that the campaign continues to grow, we ask that you forward this
email on to friends, family and colleagues who may be interested in the
campaign. Please pass on the email addresses of anyone you think would like
to hear from us directly.
Each day that passes increases the cost of our isolation. It is a vital to
Britain's national interests that we gather together as many pro-Europeans
as possible into our campaign.
If a friend has passed this email on to you, you can sign up to e-News
directly by clicking
<http://www.britainineurope.org.uk/register.phtml?cmd=2&checkbox=1> here.
2. PRICES VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED BY EURO LAUNCH
High street prices across the euro-zone have remained virtually unchanged
since euro cash was launched. Anti-European scare-mongering predicting huge
price rises have been confounded by newly-released inflation figures.
City bank UBS Warburg estimates that firms passing on the cost of converting
to the euro added the minute sum of between 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent to
total price rises in January compared to December. They suggest that the
cost of joining the euro will only be at most 10 euros - about £6 - per
person over the first few months of 2002 - a miniscule cost, compared to the
long-term benefits of cheaper prices, lower mortgages, safer jobs, higher
trade and more investment. And it makes a mockery of all the claims that
retailers would take advantage of the changeover to put up prices.
Although euro-zone inflation rose from 2.1 per cent in December to 2.5 per
cent in January, most of this is related to rises in indirect taxation, oil
prices and food prices caused by bad weather, according to UBS.
Prices in the euro-zone are on average 16 per cent cheaper than in Britain
according to a survey by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. In the long-term
the euro will keep prices down. Competitive pressures make it easier to
compare prices across borders and for firms to find cheaper suppliers.
3. FOREIGN INVESTMENT AT RISK OUT OF THE EURO - LORD HASKINS
Investment into Britain is increasingly at risk if we stay out of the euro
according to Lord Haskins, former chairman of Northern Foods.
He told a seminar on the euro: "Most multinationals still think we are going
in. If it becomes clear we are not going in within the next 12 months, then
most would take the view that it is probably not going to happen for 10
years, and that would make quite a significant impact on investment
decisions."
The cost of our isolation from the euro-zone is already being exposed. In
1998 - the year before the euro was launched on the money markets - 28 per
cent of all inward investment projects into Europe came to Britain. In the
first half of 2001, this figure had fallen to 21 per cent. The clock is
ticking for Britain's hard-won economic prosperity and stability.
4. MILLIONS OF BRITONS ALREADY SPENDING EURO CASH
One in 14 Britons has already got their hands on euro cash since the new
notes and coins were launched a month ago, according to a survey by Credit
Suisse First Boston.
Britons are expected to make 40 million trips to the euro-zone this year and
as this survey has shown, we are already becoming experts in using the
common currency. As euros begin to fill British wallets it will become
increasingly apparent that isolated from the new currency, Britons are
missing out. The euro could bring cheaper prices, lower mortgages, safer
jobs, more trade and higher investment.
5. 'NO' LOBBY CHAIR CAN'T STAND THE HEAT
Dr David Owen - the much travelled political journeyman - has decided to
turn his back on Iain Duncan Smith's 'No' lobby.
Leading Iain Duncan Smith's 'No' lobby, David Owen has acquired the nickname
'Dr Dither' with his repeated calls to hold off on a euro referendum until
after the EU's next intergovernmental conference in 2004. Once again he has
lived up to his nickname, saying that he will walk out on the 'No' lobby in
two years - or perhaps sooner if a replacement emerges!
The past two months have seen increasing organisational chaos within the
'No' lobby. This announcement means that in the past month, they have lost
their Chair, Dr Owen, a Co-Director, Dominic Cummings and their Scottish
Organiser, Tony Tucker - even the organisation's other Co-Director, Janet
Bush, is now only working part-time.
After the successful launch of euro cash and increasing pro-European
momentum in Britain it is clear that as soon as the political weather gets a
little stormy, Iain Duncan Smith's 'No' lobby falls apart.
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