《卫报》|欧盟是累赘，我们应挣脱束缚
我们与世界上竞争力最差的贸易集团存在贸易逆差。我们为什么还要留在其中？
We have a negative balance of trade with the least competitive trading bloc in the world. Why would we want to stay part of it?
在决定是否留在欧盟时，我们应当问自己：留在那个贸易集团里对英国是否有利。一个贸易集团如果能让我们进入更大的商品与服务自由市场，那才算有利。从亚当·斯密到大卫·李嘉图，经济理论都表明，当我们专注于最擅长的商品和服务，并与拥有不同技能的人进行交换时，我们的繁荣程度会得到提升。
In deciding whether we want to be part of the EU we should ask ourselves whether or not it is advantageous to the UK to be part of that trading bloc. A trading bloc is advantageous if it enables us to access a larger free market for our goods and services. Economic theory from Adam Smith to David Ricardo shows that our prosperity is enhanced when we are able to focus on those goods and services that we are best at, and trade them with others who have different skills.
那么，我们与欧盟伙伴的关系进展如何？从去年英国国家统计局的数据来看，并不太好。我们对欧盟伙伴的贸易逆差为 557 亿英镑：他们卖给我们的远多于我们卖给他们的。而且，从他们在监管方面的种种动作来看，他们显然想染指甚至扼杀我们最大的产业——金融服务，拟议中对银行家奖金的限制就是证明。尽管金融服务有种种弊端，它却是我们就业、出口和税收的最大来源，而拟议中的限制将让我们在与美国和亚洲的银行及金融机构竞争时处于劣势。
How is that going with our EU partners? Not very well judging by last year's Office for National Statistics figures. We have a negative balance of trade of £55.7bn with our EU partners: they sold us far more than we sold them. And it is clear from their actions in terms of regulation that they would like to snaffle and/or stifle our biggest industry – financial services – as the proposed curbs on bankers' bonuses demonstrates. For all its faults, this is our biggest sector for employment, exports and tax revenues, and the suggested curbs will place us at a disadvantage when competing with US and Asian banks and financial institutions.
既然加入一个贸易集团，难道我们不该想加入一个繁荣的集团吗？欧盟可谈不上繁荣。撇开那些显而易见、铺天盖地的轶事证据不谈，事实是欧盟是世界上竞争力最差的贸易集团。看看世界经济论坛 2012-13 年度全球竞争力报告中关于劳动力市场效率的排名，在调查的 144 个国家中：英国第 5，荷兰第 17，德国第 53，法国第 66，西班牙第 108，意大利第 127，希腊第 133。
And if we are part of a trading bloc, shouldn't we want to be part of a thriving trading bloc? The EU is hardly thriving. Leaving aside the obvious and overwhelming anecdotal evidence, the fact is the EU is the least competitive trading bloc in the world. If you look at the World Economic Forum's global competitiveness report for 2012-13 for labour market efficiency you see the following rankings out of 144 countries surveyed: UK, 5th; Netherlands, 17th; Germany, 53rd; France, 66th; Spain, 108th; Italy, 127th; Greece, 133rd.
其他指标也有类似结果，比如薪酬和生产率方面，英国排第 13，德国第 41，意大利第 128，依此类推。欧盟糟糕表现的影响体现在这样一个事实上：1980 年它占全球 GDP 的 31%，到 2012 年降到 19%，预计到 2017 年将进一步跌至 17%。
You get similar results for other measures, such as pay and productivity, in which the UK is ranked 13th; Germany 41st; Italy 128th; and so on. The impact of the EU's dire performance shows in the fact that in 1980 it represented 31% of world GDP but in 2012 it was down to 19%, and by 2017 is forecast to fall to 17%.
把自己绑在欧盟身上，就像拖着铁球赛跑，因为我们被迫引进那些在全球竞争中失利的国家的劳工制度和商业监管。如果可以选择，你肯定会选择与做得更好的国家结盟，比如新加坡，它在劳动力市场效率排名中位列第二；或者美国，排第六。不要被忽悠着认为这不可能，或者认为因为地理位置靠近欧洲，我们就必须得和它组成贸易集团。一个多世纪以前，英国就建立了遍布全球的成功贸易关系，而当时距离还是做生意的真实障碍。在一个日益由互联网、数字商业和几乎无处不在的喷气式旅行主导的世界里，距离已经无关紧要。
Binding ourselves to the EU is like trying to run a race with a ball and chain as we are forced to import the labour practices and business regulation of countries that are the losers in global competitiveness. Given the choice, you would surely ally yourself to countries that are doing better, such as Singapore, which is second in the table of labour market efficiency; or the US, which is sixth. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is impossible, or that we have to be in a trading bloc with Europe because of our geographical proximity to it. Britain had successful trading relationships that spanned the globe over a century ago, when distance was a real obstacle to doing business. In a world increasingly dominated by the internet, digital business, and near universal access to jet travel, distance is irrelevant.
你当然会听到亲欧盟游说团体说，我们不能脱离欧盟，否则欧盟就不再以优惠条件与我们做贸易。请记住，我们的欧盟伙伴卖给我们比我们卖给他们多 560 亿英镑。他们敢冒着失去这笔生意的风险吗？
You will of course hear from the pro- EU lobby that we cannot separate from the EU as it will then cease to trade with us on favourable terms. Remember that our EU partners sell us £56bn more than we sell them. Will they risk losing this?
这个游说团体的显赫成员，比如肯·克拉克、彼得·曼德尔森和理查德·布兰森，正是当年为英国加入欧元区奔走游说的同一班人马，当时他们放话说不加入欧元区会给英国整体、尤其是伦敦金融城带来灾难。现在再看他们的预测如何？
The prominent members of this lobby, such as Ken Clarke, Peter Mandelson and Richard Branson, are the same cast of characters who campaigned for the UK to join the euro and who forecast disaster for the UK in general and the City in particular if we did not. How do their predictions look now?
也许我们该问问希腊、爱尔兰、意大利、葡萄牙、西班牙以及很快要轮到法国的人民，他们深受部分国家超过 25% 的失业率、甚至超过 50% 的年轻人失业率的困扰，如何看待加入欧元区的好处。事实上，上周末意大利选民给出了答案，欧盟任命的马里奥·蒙蒂排在一位退休喜剧演员和西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼之后，位列第四，这本身就是件了不起的事。在其它任何行当，任何一个像这个亲欧元游说集团那样预测记录糟糕透顶的人，都会被无视——或者羞愧到主动退出辩论。
Perhaps we should ask the people of Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and soon France what they think of the merits of euro membership as they struggle with unemployment of over 25% in some cases and youth unemployment of over 50%. In fact, the Italian electorate was asked last weekend and the EU appointee Mario Monti came fourth behind a retired comedian and Silvio Berlusconi, which takes some doing. In any other walk of life, anyone with the pro-euro lobby's abysmal record of forecasting would be ignored – or be so ashamed that they would withdraw from the debate.
Terry Smith
Terry Smith
The Guardian
The Guardian