A British retiree has claimed he was pushed into voting for Brexit after being subjected to the “hell” of EU and Italian regulations.
Paul, 65, a former gardener from Manchester, opened a small bed and breakfast in central Italy after purchasing a six-bedroom farm near Cassino, to the south of Rome, for €35,000 (£30,500).
He spent €15,000 (£13,000) renovating the property, but after fewer than four years living in the country, he shut up shop.
The retiree, who wished not to be known by his real name, said he encountered a wall of Italian and EU-wide bureaucracy when he tried to expand the property that left him on the verge of “losing my mind”.
He told the I newspaper he was forced to move home to Manchester, and when the Brexit vote presented itself in 2016, he jumped at the chance to separate the UK from the “stupid” laws.
The former gardener told the publication he applied for EU funds to expand his B&B with extra rooms in 2014.
The process would have set him back approximately €20,000 (£17,400) without the additional help.
But he was told by Italian authorities over the phone his business was not eligible for the funds, as his property had fewer than 10 rooms.
To secure the funding, he needed to run a “small firm or accommodation structure” with at least 10 rooms – the number he hoped to reach with the additional cash.
He explained: “These EU funds support small firms and accommodation structures like B&Bs but my place was not classified as a B&B, it was rather a ‘room rental’ because it had less than 10 rooms, so after spending months and money in paperwork, my application was rejected.”
He added: “It just sounded so stupid, like a joke.”
He said the process left him questioning his decision to retire to Italy for a “simple, no-brainer life, while running a small activity”, and how anyone can “prosper in the EU”.
He felt “trapped by all those rules”, and “had to hire a lawyer to avoid losing my mind” despite just having “a bunch of guest rooms”.
The retiree said he eventually returned to being a gardener on demand, and is happy the UK is “independent from the EU bodies’ tyranny”.
He said: “I think being independent from the EU bodies’ tyranny is a major victory, the UK’s global role has increased, in my view, and I’ve gone back to being a gardener-on-demand.”
