The author
Plan of page
- The Meaning of the Maastricht Treaty
- Some Economic Comparisons with our EU neighbours
- The Common European Currency
- A Brexit Blueprint: Britain Revitalised and Independence Regained
- Single Market Realities I
- Single Market Realities II
- Technomica Papers
The Meaning of the Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty, which was signed by our Foreign Secretary in February 1992, established the European Union and made us all citizens of it. It brought about the Single Currency (Euro) and introduced qualified majority voting, which severely reduces Britain’s ability to influence the current policy making of the EU.
It increased the influence of the EU much more deeply into all its member states, intruding into monetary policy, immigration, defence, social cohesion, police co-operation, the environment, energy, health, consumer protection, etc.
This paper can be read in full by clicking on MeaningOfMaastricht. To return to Britain Watch after reading the paper, use the Back button, not the Close button.
Some Economic Comparisons with our EU neighbours
Germany has now (2005) overtaken the USA as the world’s largest trading nation[1]. This has entirely come about by a dramatic expansion of exports of manufactured goods. Within that surge Germany is now far and away the largest exporter of machinery, being responsible for about 25% of the world’s supply. All the signs are that Germany is moving towards steady manufacturing export-led growth.
The Republic of Ireland has similarly confounded those who maintain that the UK’s shrinkage of its manufacturing sector is somehow a sign of “a mature, post industrial economy”. In just under 30 years Ireland has moved its industrial output (mainly manufacturing) from ‘ of the 1979 UK figure per capita (£900) to 70% more than the 2005 UK figure (£3,600). At the same time its GDP per head has increased from about 51% of UK’s in 1980 to around 20% greater than the UK (32,500$) in 2005. Table 1 gives the salient figures.
Table 1[2]: Some Comparisons relevant to the UK Economy 2005 $Bn except GDP per capita
| Country |
UK |
Germany |
France |
Ireland |
| Item | ||||
| GDP |
1,901 |
2,538 |
1,898 |
161 |
| GDP per capita |
32,500 |
30,800 |
30,300 |
38,800 |
| Exports: Goods Services |
384 |
978 |
434 |
110 |
|
202 |
154 |
115 |
57 |
|
| Imports: Goods Services |
515 |
777 |
476 |
70 |
|
160 |
204 |
105 |
69 |
|
| Trade balance: Goods Services |
-182 |
201 |
-42 |
40 |
|
42 |
-50 |
10 |
-12 |
Table 2: 2005 Percentage share of the Comparator Economies by sector
| Country | UK | Germany | France | Ireland |
| Item | ||||
| Agriculture | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 2 |
| Industry | 17.4 | 25 | 15.1 | 26 |
| Construction | 5.8 | 4 | 5.7 | 10 |
| Tourism, trade & transport | 21 | 18 | 19 | 17 |
| Finance & Business | 32 | 29 | 32 | 25 |
| Public sector (Government, health, education) | 23 | 22 | 26 | 26 |
Note 1
The two countries with the largest industrial sectors and smallest Finance and Business sectors have by far the biggest net trade balance (in line with the “Distribution of Labour” paper Table 1).
Note 2
Ireland has just about doubled its industrial sector over the last 28 years, along with its GDP per capita relative to the UK, and its total trade.
Note 3
The implication of the GDP (Table 1) and sector figures (in Table 2) is that Germany’s industrial output at $634 Bn is almost double the UK’s at $333 Bn (which includes about $50 Bn of oil and gas production which is set to decline rapidly – see Balance of Payments paper Table 2).
S F Bush
26 June 2007
[1]China has (probably just now (2010) overtaken Germany, again for the same reason – an expansion in manufactured goods.
[2]Sources: OECD 2007, ONS (Pink Book) 2006, Statesman’s Handbook 2005 and 1982