The European Union’s official statistics office, Eurostat, stands accused withholding details about the gap in unemployment between Euro and non-Euro member states.
British Member of the European Parliament David Campbell Bannerman slammed European authorities who he accuses of opaque practices with regards to the jobless rates across the continent.
Unemployment in countries that use the Euro stood at 11.5 percent for June according to Eurostat, with 18.4 million people out of work. EU28 unemployment sat at 10.2 percent, and the figure for non-Euro member states is even lower, reflecting poorly on the monetary and political union.
Numbers hidden in the small print of Eurostat’s report suggest a non-Euro area unemployment closer to 9.4 percent. If Euro-area unemployment were 9.4 percent as well, an extra three million citizens would be in work.
David Campbell Bannerman, Conservative MEP for Eastern England, today slammed the EU’s lack of transparency and said the figures proved the Euro project, which European President Jean-Claude Juncker regards as a great success, was failing.
“Not only do these figures show Britain was right to stick with the Pound, but Eurostat’s handling of the data has once again exemplified the grave transparency deficit in Brussels.
“For too long we have put up with the expensive and undemocratic Brussels machine. The time has come for us to leave and become an independent country once again.”
When asked for an exact and official figure, Eurostat declined, saying: “Eurostat published data only for official entities, such as individual Member States and EU/EA aggregates”.