Hyperbole of The Year

The following is a quote from David Miliband and Geoff Hoon

Global problems demand global policies. For Britain, that overwhelmingly means co-operation in the European Union, which - without exaggeration - could be as important to the environment in the first half of the 21st century as it was to peace in the second half of the 20th.

Assume if you will that the EU had anything to do with peace in the 20th century. What of the second part of their claim: Also from the Guardian (in 2003):

Margot Wallstrom, the EU's environment commissioner, warned that the EU's own efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions were in crisis. Ms Wallstrom said that only two countries, Sweden and the UK, were on track to meet the EU's target of cutting 1990 greenhouse emissions by 8% before 2010 and that 13 of the EU's 15 member states would easily miss that goal.

So not so good so far. How about the EU's agricultural policy?

The negative impacts of intensive farming practices have led to an impoverished countryside, polluted water systems and an increase in greenhouse gases.

Then of course there is the Common Fisheries Policy. (ppt)

• 70% of the main commercial fish stocks in EU waters are considered heavily overfished.
• Numbers of large, mature fish capable of spawning in EU waters fell nearly 75% between 1995-1999.
• More than 928 million juvenile plaice are discarded annually in EU waters – nearly 18 million euros in lost value.
• 89% of hammerhead sharks have disappeared in the Northeast Atlantic in the last 18 years as a result of bycatch.
• NE Atlantic contains nearly half of the 20 most wasteful fisheries globally.

Meanwhile the EU continues to subsidise the replacement of fishing vessels.

I could go on. The Three most important cross border environmental issues are protection of habitats, protection of migratory species and reduction of pollutants. In all three cases the EU's policies are useless or even counter productive. So there is no merit in the EU helps the environment argument.