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But in the meantime the bills from Brussels keep dropping on the mat. Pricey security arrangements for MEPs are just one item, a unit of 46 bodyguards, with 12 of them assigned to protect the European Parliaments president Antonio Tajani.

It is being called a private army and this is clearly no exaggeration.

Both the guards and their drivers will also have to make a monthly round-trip to Strasbourg which will cost a further million or so euros. The profligacy is never ending.

But this extravagant outlay is simply part of a 1.7billion spending binge as the EU tries to squeeze as much as possible out of British taxpayers while it still can.

Our contribution is expected to be around 230million.

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Another expense is what we will put towards a pro-EU publicity campaign (a strong citizen-centric message) in advance of the 2019 European elections.

Britons of course will not be taking part in these elections as we will have left the EU by then.

On one hand this vast expenditure is cause for fury.

But it is also a useful indication of how much British taxpayers money is sucked into the bottomless pit that is the EU.

While any further expenditure is deeply regrettable it is a salutary reminder of the wisdom of more than 17 million British people when last June they voted to leave.

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Mrs May had a tough message for Nicola Sturgeon in her address yesterday to the Scottish Conservatives in Glasgow.

She accused the First Minister of treating politics as if it were a game and the SNP administration of tunnel-vision nationalism.

She stated forcefully that there was no economic case for breaking up the United Kingdom.

She also pointed out the failings of the Scottish government in education and health.

It was stirring stuff and brought to mind that the union of our four nations England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is precious, unique in the world and not something which we should abandon lightly.

The independence referendum showed most Scots are aware of this. Nicola Sturgeon is indeed playing a dangerous game.

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IF the Queen moves her handbag from hand to hand or places it on a table then it is a secret signal to her people that she wants to talk to someone else or is preparing to make her exit.

Mrs Thatcher was accused of handbagging but this is far more subtle.

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Express view: EU Army is reminder of why we need to leave European Union - Express.co.uk

New York Times

EU, Pressured from Inside and Out, Considers a Reboot New York Times Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, in Brussels on Wednesday. He will deliver a speech that will offer different scenarios for the future of the European Union including some that could roll back his powers. Credit Olivier ... Commission outlines 5 scenarios for future of EU in white paperPOLITICO.eu 'Stop bashing the EU', Jean-Claude Juncker tells European leadersThe Guardian EU Presents Five Visions for The Future of EuropeVoice of America EU News -Breitbart News -Express.co.uk all 178 news articles »

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EU, Pressured from Inside and Out, Considers a Reboot - New York Times

Forbes

An Investor's Guide To The Collapse Of The European Union Forbes While Trump's tweets grab the headlines, Europe's perils are becoming harder to ignore. Greece's fiscal follies have surfaced once again, but that's not the EU's biggest threat at the moment. That award goes to Italy's banks. Currently, around 18% of ...

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An Investor's Guide To The Collapse Of The European Union - Forbes

It has left UK taxpayers having to pay more than 130million for their unpaid debts according to a fresh analysis of Student Loans Company figures

ONE INfour EU citizens who study in England go home without paying a penny of their loans, the Sun can reveal.

It has left UK taxpayers picking up a bill of more than 400million for their unpaid debts.

Alamy

MPs said it exposed one of the many hidden costs of EU membership and demanded Theresa May use Brexit to stop taxpayers being ripped off.

Students from across Europe who choose to attend English universities get access to the same taxpayer-funded loan as British citizens.

But analysis of figures from the Student Loans Company reveal 18,600 have not paid back a penny and authorities cannot track them because they have returned overseas.

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The 25 per cent of EU graduates who fail to repay loans compares to an overall rate of just 2 per cent.

Furious Tory MPs have demanded Theresa May recoup the money owed by EU graduates in Brexit negotiations.

Jacob Rees-Mogg said there was no reason for EU students to be subsidised by UK taxpayers.

And Philip Davies told The Sun: This is an absolute scandal and shows the huge hidden cost of our membership of the EU to go on top of our 10billion a year membership fee.

Now we are leaving the EU the Government needs to ensure that we stop taxpayers being ripped off in this way.

The number of EU graduates placed in arrears for failing to repay loans reached 8,600 last year. A further 10,000 are not repaying because they are unknown to UK authorities.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said EU students who default on their student loans should be stopped at the border and treated in the same way as benefit cheats and tax evaders.

He called on ministers to include measures in the Higher Education Bill to introduce an online repayment scheme to make it easier for graduates to settle their debts. He said the Treasury could save 22 for every 1 spent if ministers copy a scheme brought in by New Zealand.

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Mr Hillman told The Sun: Tackling it is not rocket science. We should copy New Zealand, which has introduced carrots and sticks to raise repayment rates.

If you enter New Zealand owing money, you can be arrested at the border. They also have easy online repayment systems and hardship provisions for those who really cannot afford it.

He added: If Ministers are not prepared to amend the Higher Education Bill currently in the House of Lords, then Philip Hammond must tackle the issue in his next Budget. For every 1 spent chasing repayments from people overseas, he could get 22 in repayments.

That is an exceptionally high rate of return, much higher than other government policies.

David Kurten, Ukip's Education Spokesman,said: The scandal of EU students taking student loans from the British taxpayer and returning home without paying has gone on for years."

He added: "The scale of this scandal has now been revealed at over 400 million.

"Ukip have been saying for years that all students who are foreign nationals, including those from the EU, should pay their own University fees up front if they are studying in Britain. This is simple common sense.

"This is money which should all have been recovered, and could have paid for 15 brand new secondary schools.

"There is no excuse for this waste to continue: British money should be spent first on British people and services in this country, particularly in skills training for young people which has been neglected for far too long."

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One in four European Union citizens who study in England go home without paying a PENNY of their student loans - The Sun

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EU judges have thrown out a case brought by three asylum seekers challenging the legality of the EU-Turkey migrant deal by claiming Brussels was not responsible for the agreement.

Judges blamed inaccuracies in the press release about the deal which indicated the EU, rather than member states, had reached the agreement.

The General Court of the European Union said it lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case which saw Turkey agree to help EU member states tackle the migrant crisis in March 2016 after more than a million people arrived in Europe.

The evidence provided by the European Council shows that it was not the EU but its member states, as actors under international law, that conducted negotiations with Turkey in that area

General Court of the EU

Under the deal, which saw the EU agree to hand over at least 5billion to Turkey to help them stop the crisis escalating, migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands could be deported to back to Turkey.

Two Pakistani nationals and an Afghan national submitted applications for asylum after travelling from Turkey to Greece.

The nationals questioned the legality of the agreement and called for the court to annul the deal between the European Council and Turkey.

But judges threw out the case saying the deal was made between heads of EU member states and the Turkish government under international law and not by the European Council or any EU institutions sparking outrage.

In a statement, the court said: The Court takes the view that the evidence, provided by the European Council and relating to the meetings on the migration crisis held successively in 2015 and 2016 between the Heads of State or Government of the member states and their Turkish counterpart, shows that it was not the EU but its member states, as actors under international law, that conducted negotiations with Turkey in that area, including on 18 March 2016.

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AFP

Ankara agreed to the deal in exchange for billions of pounds in funding to help migrants, the promise of visa-free travel for its citizens to much of the EU, and accelerated EU membership talks.

Amnesty International criticised the decision, accusing the EU of sidestepping scrutiny.

John Dalhuisen, Amnesty Internationals Director for Europe and Central Asia, said: There is something very wrong when EU leaders negotiate a deal at an EU summit, publicise it as an EU deal and use EU resources to implement it, but then claim it has nothing to do with the EU in order to avoid judicial scrutiny.

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Migrants try to reach a rescue craft from their overcrowded raft, as lifeguards from the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue all 112 on aboard

The deceit involved in the EU-Turkey deal just keeps growing: first EU leaders pretend that Turkey is a safe country to return refugees to, then they wash their hands of all involvement when this deeply flawed deal comes under the microscope.

Shifting the blame will not change the fact that this deal has brought suffering to thousands of refugees and migrants, and there is an urgent need for it to be reviewed.

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Bungling EU says it NEVER made a migrant deal with Turkey as court rejects asylum bid - Express.co.uk