They were not, of course, funded by the EU at all. The money was all provided by UK taxpayers. For every £2.80 we contribute to the EU’s badly managed coffers we only get about £1 back. The EU made a profit on all the projects and then scooped up again with the fines which will benefit non-contributing member states such as France.

The draconian fines on the UK for the trivial issue of signage stand in stark contrast to the treatment of France over the infinitely worse crime of ethnic cleansing which it has committed against the Roma. All that seems to be happening to them so far has been a ticking off from Commissioner Reding and ‘an investigation by the European Union in to their legality’.

It is easy to imagine the proceedings of the committee detailed to carry out the investigation. They will probably spin it out a bit but basically it will be something like this,
Eurocrat No 1. What does everyone think, did they do it?
Eurocrat No 2. Well, it would be difficult to deny it, there are scores of eye witnesses and anyway it was all on TV.
Eurocrat No 1. So they did it?
Eurocrat No 2. Yes.
Eurocrat No 3. So what is the punishment, a fine?
Eurocrat No 4. Oh no, it was the French. The most we should do is another meaningless ticking off and even that had better be reasonably mild or they will get in bad mood and the UK will have to send them yet another truckload of money to cheer them up.
Committee Chair. Any other points? No, OK, thank you all for coming, here are your expense forms. Please send them to the UK Treasury – not the EU Finance Office, they are very busy just now. I believe they are trying to work out what they did with all the money they received back in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, etc.

It is not that there is one rule for France and another rule for the UK. The rules are the same but the punishments only seem to apply to Great Britain.