European dream has been killed

Deerlands Avenue, Parson Cross, Sheffield, S5

‘But it will be in the interest of Britain (after accession to EEC) to encourage the development of the Community toward an effectively harmonised economic, fiscal and monetary system and fairly closely co-ordinated and consistent foreign and defence policy... it would take years to develop and to win political acceptance... If it came to do so essential aspects of sovereignty both internal and external would be increasingly transferred to the Community itself.

By the end of the century with effective defence and political harmonisation the erosion of the international role of member States would be almost complete’.

Is this a preamble to Jean-ClaudeJuncker’s 2018 State of the Union Address?

No! It’s taken from a top secret 1971 Foreign and Commonwealth Office letter written to Ted Heath prior to his signing of the Accession Treaty. Locked away for 30 years, its content was only recently released after a year-long F.O.I request.

Intervening years have seen an unwitting public mere supporting actors to a political establishment working to that script laid out 47 years ago. Wheeled out when necessary to give the impression of involvement, cajoled, used as pawns by those with vested interests they pointlessly enact a play based on intrigue, deceit and treachery, the end of which was already written.

As part of the plot, ‘celebrities’ were given ‘bit parts’ on account of their ‘public appeal’ the media encouraged to ‘give pro-EU TV producers more access, persuade TV to use pro-EU presenters, recruit pro-EU footballers, entertainers’ in order to sway the public in advance of referenda.

Many of the scenes enacted now, the curtain is about to fall on the final act, but for Brexiteers the document chillingly offers the following preview:

‘The ability and the ultimate political right to withdraw will remain for a very considerable time though it may come to have only theoretical significance’.

Has that time expired?

Remainers have doggedly followed the path taking them towards absolute integration but time has moved on and EU foundations are becoming shaky.

Mateo Salvini this year claimed ‘the European dream has been killed in Brussels’ and threatened an Italo-Polish axis to ‘counter’ the Franco-German one.

Built over decades, the EU has become ever more remote from the people it governs and despite its £415 million gilded twin towers signifying ultimate power is it about to start rocking on its foundations?