Daniel Hannan explains:
According to the Commissioner for Enterprise, Gunther Verheugen, the benefits of the single market are worth around 180 billion euros a year, while the cost of complying with Brussels rules is 600 billion euros. In other words, by its own admission, the EU costs more than it’s worth.
Keep that in mind the next time someone tries to pitch you on an “economies of scale” argument for centralizing power. If it involves bureaucracies rather than economic activity, you can rest assured that the costs of the centralization will run 3x the purported savings.