EU wipes England off the map – as Gordon Brown flies the flag of St George over Downing Street

Last updated at 16:23 23 April 2008
The Tories have issued a St George’s Day rallying cry against plans by Brussels to “wipe England off the map” and create a United Europe.

As Gordon Brown hoisted the English national flag over 10 Downing Street to celebrate St George’s Day, it was revealed that EU officials had revised a map wiping out the country and the Channel.

The change splits England into three and lumps those parts together with chunks of other countries to create “transnational regions”.

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Flying the flag: The cross of St George over No 10 Downing Street today

It is claimed these zones – which have been allocated their own budgets – are intended to boost trade between EU nations.

But the Tories yesterday accused the Government of trying “to create a European superstate via the back door”.

Under the programme, known as INTER-REG, counties along England’s south coast form the “Manche Region” along with northern France.

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Divide and rule: How the South-East has been paired up with regions across the Channel

The “Atlantic Region” takes in western England, along with Ireland, Wales and parts of Portugal, Spain, France and Scotland.

Meanwhile eastern England is part of the “North Sea Region”, which covers areas of Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands.

Gordon Brown: Celebrating Englishness

The UK Government is fully behind the project, even though the words “England” and “Britain” are left off official maps of each area and the Manche Region renames the English Channel “The Channel Sea”.

Each region, which will be given taxpayers’ money to promote trade links, cultural ties, transport policies and tourism, is to be run by a “managing authority” of unelected officials overseen by a director.

None will be based in the UK, with Manche ruled by the French, Atlantic by the Portuguese and North Sea by the Danes.

The regions have legal status and Manche has a budget of £261million between 2007 and 2013, Atlantic £127million and North Sea £219million.

Every project funded by a region must have a publicity campaign which ensures “there is provision for flying the EU flag at least one week every year”.

Eric Pickles, the Conservatives’ communities spokesman, said: “We already knew that Gordon Brown had hoisted the white flag of surrender to the European Constitution.

St George, played by historical interpreter Alan Larson, does his best at dispatching the Dragon at Scarborough Castle

“Now the Labour Government has been caught red-handed conspiring with European bureaucrats to create a European superstate via the back door.

“Gordon Brown literally wants to wipe England off the map.”

But a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government insisted: “It has nothing to do with altering names on maps.

“It is about support for business, helping boost employment and turning around deprived areas… helping firms in Kent do business with people in Northern France or promoting joint tourism initiatives between different countries.”

A St George’s Day flag flies next to a statue of Sir Winston Churchill in London’s Parliament Square today

The move came as Gordon Brown ordered that all UK Government buildings with two flag poles should fly the cross of St George alongside the union banner.

It follows a review of flag flying practices. Number 10 will in future fly the Scottish and Welsh flags on their patron saints’ days.

Northern Ireland does not have an official national flag, and so the same practice will not apply on St Patrick’s Day.

“The Prime Minister’s view is that of course we should celebrate our Britishness, but celebrating our Britishness does not mean we cannot also celebrate our Englishness, Scottishness, Welshness or Northern Irishness,” said the spokesman.

The English flag last flew over Downing Street during the 2006 World Cup.

New map of Britain that makes Kent part of France…and it’s a German idea

by TIM SHIPMAN

Last updated at 09:11 04 September 2006

Click the image to enlarge

For centuries the people of Kent have called their county the Garden of England. So they might find it quite a surprise that – according to the European Union at least – they are actually part of France.

Along with next-door Sussex, Kent has been rolled in with the Calais area on a map drawn up for Brussels.

The counties now belong to the “Trans-Manche region”.

Under the plans from German cartographers, the East of England has also been shoehorned into a new region, which includes Scandinavia.

The Western side of Britain has been lumped together with Ireland and the Atlantic coasts of France, Spain and Portugal.

The Tories accused the EU of plotting to undermine nation states and even “wipe Britain off the map”.

They warned that the German government wants to make the downgrading of national borders a key plank of its presidency of the EU next year – despite the rejection of the European Constitution by voters.

Brussels bureaucrats are poised to take charge of all “spatial information” in EU nations, forcing the 25 member states to bring their maps into line with specifications laid down by Brussels.

Those living in counties from Essex northwards will join the North Sea region under the plans, which take in coastal areas of Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

The new regions have been drawn up for a project called Interreg, which wants to foster cross-border co-operation on issues such as tourism, trade, health and the environment.

The EU project will lead to a harmonisation of geographical names, administrative units and maps.

Brussels will also be able to create a database of property information used for taxation purposes.

The Tories claim this could be the first step in imposing an EU-wide property tax.

Local government spokesman Eric Pickles said: “Under the Labour Government, Britain has already been subdivided into regions as part of John Prescott’s empire building.

“I fear that there is an agenda to undermine national identities and impose a United States of Europe by stealth. Conservatives will fight these attempts to Balkanise Britain.

“I fear Eurocrats could literally wipe Britain off the map and hardworking families and pensioners should be concerned that Europe wants the authority to build a database of their homes – this threatens to lead to an EU-wide property tax.

“We should work constructively with Europe to promote trade and co-operation between nations, but Conservatives believe that this is just the type of unwarranted interference that gives Brussels a bad name.”

In a dossier on the new map, the Tories also warned: “Extending “transnationality” is to be a key part of German plans for their presidency of the European Union next year.”

In June, Wolfgang Tiefensee, a German minister, said: “There is the great hope underlying the goal of a United Europe that we can permanently overcome old borders.”