Oh no, not another "victory"

The Daily Torygraph is all excited: the Boy King has won another victory in Brussels. Woo-hoo! Red tape will be cut because our fearless David has vanquished Goliath. Well, sort of. I mean, Goliath isn't actually dead. In fact, he is doing rather well.

Over dinner in Brussels last night, EU leaders agreed a to bring forward "concrete" plans to cut bureaucracy by June.

Decisions on which regulations will be abolished are then expected to be discussed in the autumn.

In a joint statement at the European Council summit, the leaders said: "Further action is required to reduce the overall burden of regulation at EU and national levels, while always taking account of the need for proper protection of consumers and employees."

The statement promised detailed talks in the autumn on "the withdrawal of regulations that are no longer of use" and "the consolidation of existing legislation".

That's it. That is the great victory: a definite promise of some discussions that will bring forward concrete proposals to consolidate existing legislation.

Good letters in the Telegraph

It is a pity that the Telegraph, true to its mission statement of supporting the Conservatives whoever they might be, gives first slot among the letters to Bill Cash's ramblings. Not that he is entirely wrong - of course this country needs economic growth and, of course, it is difficult, not to say impossible with all those regulations pouring out of Brussels (and Whitehall, let us not forget). But, but, but ....

We cannot renegotiate a different relationship with the EU as we do not exactly have a relationship with it. Mr Cash knows that but he cannot go against party policy and call for a complete renegotiation of all matters, that is called withdrawal.

It is not the Lib-Dims who are the obstruction but the leadership of Mr Cash's own party but, clearly, he cannot actually say that. I shall pass over his well-known obsession with Germany, rooted in the fact that his father was killed during the Normandy invasion.

The second letter, on the other hand, from Lord Willoughby de Broke [you have to scroll down] makes an excellent point and does so very briefly. It ought to have been top of the list. Just exactly, why did George Trefgarne "forget" to mention the ring-fenced though ever-growing sums we hand over to the EU every year?