FURY OVER HANDOUT TO TIBET

The Daily Mail, 1 May 1996

A European Union handout to thousands of Tibetan nomads provoked outrage at Westminster last night. Tory Eurosceptics said they were "appalled" by the latest example of Brussels generosity.

To help the Tibetans cope with the consequences of "severe weather conditions", the EC Humanitarian Office is shelling out 455.000. The cash will help provide food, medical aid and blankets to harders whose yaks and sheep have died in snowstorms and temperatures down to minus 52C. Although the handout represents only a fraction of the EU's 600 million humanitarian aid budget, it as been seized on as an example of how Brussels spending has gone mad. "The way the european Unions spends our money is obscene" said Teresa Gorman. "We did not join Europe for it to become a charitable institution for other nations". The Billercay MP said she was not against giving money to deserving causes, but it should be done by individuals or countries - not by the EU as a whole. "This business of giving away other people's money just so they can give themselves a nice warm feeling is appalling. The way the treat taxpayers' money is a disgrace. A Brussels spokesman said: "The EU is not just about financial transactions and fr

ee trade. It is also about other values, which are rooted in European Culture, such as solidarity and humanitarianism".