Press-release and speeches by Mandelson, Clarke, Alexander and Wilding
KEN CLARKE SPEECH AT THE LAUNCH OF
BRITISH INFLUENCE
Lord Mandelson speech for British Influence launch Jan 30th, 2013
Check against delivery
"I do not regard today's event as firing the starting pistol for a referendum campaign because there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge ? including the holding of a general election ? before any point of decision is reached on that.
But the point is, for far too long, those who want to destroy Britain's interests and influence in Europe have been allowed to get away with murder with the lies and false propaganda they have poured out about the European Union and what it represents for our country. This cannot go unchallenged anymore.
The pro Europeans have bided their time. Now we must unbide our time.
There is too much at stake. Britain has to make its living and succeed in the world and the EU gives us a critical platform in doing that. By becoming big in Europe's vast single market, our businesses are helped to become big in the world. By the EU opening up markets in fast-growing economies elsewhere, British trade is lifted. By forging agreements to help protect our investment, our intellectual property and to enforce international rules and standards, our businesses and therefore jobs back home are helped in ways that Britain is just not big or powerful enough to do alone.
Of course, nobody likes domestic regulation and laws where these can be avoided. But the rules of Europe's single market are about removing 28 different sets of national laws that impede trade and investment.
The EU's critics often say "why don't we just have the single market and leave it at that". But this market, which is Britain's home market, doesn't just create itself.
Its openness has to be enforced; national barriers need to be challenged. That is the job of the European Commission and the European Court of Justice.
Britain needs the single market in services to be advanced. We won't achieve that by giving up, not bothering and retreating from our influence and standing in the Commission and the European Parliament.
And where there are free markets, there needs to be appropriate social and labour protection. This expresses our common values of solidarity and equality. The details we will argue about, as the Labour government did successfully in protecting individual choice over working time hours, but I think it a plus that as a result of having a European law citizens in the UK have for the first time a legal entitlement to paid holidays.
In the coming years, Europe is going to become a hotter topic in British politics. I welcome this. There is much to be debated, much to build alliances around and much to put right.
But let's not fool ourselves. Britain's interests lie in Europe, whether in the EU or not we will not cease to be European as well as British. The rest of the world will continue to see us as a British European nation, joined in their eyes with the European continent.
So we need to make the most of this reality and the best of our advantages in the EU. Our political leaders, all of them, regardless of party, have a duty to lead on this issue.
Of course, we can and should shape Europe and its institutions in ways that address our needs and priorities. Everyone else does that. My complaint is that, often in Britain, we do not stand up for ourselves in Europe nearly as vigorously and effectively as we should. Instead of heading up a cul de sac of mindless, inward looking, soul searching and navel gazing, we should be going out and spreading our influence and fighting for the agenda we think is good for Britain and for Europe as a whole.
That is the point of the Centre for British Influence in Europe and the Future of Europe Forum we are launching today. It is for people of all political parties and none who share our aims. It will transcend party politics and provide a platform to champion Britain's true interests in Europe. The fight back starts here.
Of course, the Eurozone crisis and its aftermath is being seized on by the EU?s critics. For them, ?don?t waste a good crisis? is the motto.
There is no reason for us to be put on the back foot by this. Clearly, the euro, when launched, was an incompleted project and some of us should perhaps have been more hard-headed in recognizing this. Equally, we should understand the implications for Britain and the financial hub we provide to Europe and the world of being permanently detached from a revamped and completed economic and monetary union in Europe. The City cannot thrive if it is separated from Europe?s single market in financial and professional business services.
This is a crucial area where we have to safeguard Britain?s interests. In other areas, we should and must lead. In defence and security matters, for example.
Pollution is no respecter of national boundaries and Europe provides the means for collective action to tackle it. On climate change, one of the great existential challenges of our times, the sum impact of collective European efforts reaches far beyond what a single nation state can achieve.
Just because Britain doesn?t participate or lead in everything, doesn?t mean we have nowhere to lead at all.
The government is throwing itself into promoting the EU-US free trade agreement. Quite right too! Ken is Britain?s secret weapon. Of course, he would be the first to acknowledge that the Trade Commissioner will be doing the actual negotiation. We would not want to be stepping on the Commissioner?s toes?.
But here is the point: Germany, France, Italy and others will all be busy advancing their national agendas in these talks, so that their interests are amongst the negotiating priorities. That?s exactly what we have to do, in this and every other aspect of the EU?s activities.
I cannot think of a better illustration of why Britain has to take the EU seriously, why we must be there at the forefront, leading not lurking, unable to make up our minds whether we are in, out or just hanging about. That?s the recipe for decline that we can and must reject.?
ENDS
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KEN CLARKE
I have taken a rather active part in the first fifty years of
Britain?s somewhat eccentric debate about our role in
the world and our role in Europe.
The debate now is not the same as it was when I began
my political career.
We face a much more complex world, a more complex
Union.
It is obvious not only to the British public, but also to all
the key European leaders, that the EU needs to reform.
This is essential if its members, including the UK, are to
compete properly in a fiercely global marketplace and
exert our full influence in the political events of an
interdependent modern world.
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REFORM
Reforming the EU actually means it doing more in the
areas where it makes compelling sense for us to work
together. We are immensely powerful as part of a
market of 500 million people.
In his speech last week, the Prime Minister made a
strong case for a number of things the EU should be
doing much better, where UK leadership as a member
of the EU can improve things.
I strongly agree with that.
When the UK plays an active leading role in Europe we
can achieve enormous things which we simply could
not on our own.
So the real challenge for us as we debate our role in the
EU is working out what we should be pushing forward?
?what we should be leading on within the EU?
?to make it - and us - a more effective economic and
global power.
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The areas we should be exerting influence in are
numerous. But let me focus on just two particularly
clear examples of unfinished business ? the first
economic, the second political.
ECONOMIC REFORM
British Governments have always played a key and
sometimes leading role in economic reform and trading
policy in the European Union.
The Single Market was the work of a Conservative
Prime Minister ? Margaret Thatcher ? and her
Government. It simply would not have happened
without the UK pushing it forward. The benefits we
reap from it are quite astonishing.
But the Single Market is unfinished business. It is
damaging to the economies of every nation in Europe
that we do not have a single market in services when it
could unlock hundreds of billions in trade ? and tens of
thousands of jobs.
This is no time for holding back.
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There has never been a more important time to push
our reforming market agenda in Europe. We are facing
our greatest collective economic crisis for a century.
Completing the single market, properly engaging in the
tough negotiations that that will require, would be an
enormous stimulus.
We also desperately needs a programme which
improves the international competitiveness of all the
European economies ? including ours ? in a rapidly
changing world in which the big challenges come from
Asian tigers and bewilderingly fast changing
technologies.
And we need a more open rules-based global trading
system. The Prime Minister has asked me to take a
role in helping to push forward an EU-US free trade
agreement.
I have just come from discussing this in Santiago with
the Trade Commissioner.
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A successful agreement here has huge potential. The
EU is the biggest marketplace in the world, the US is
not far behind.
This is an enormous deal for Britain.
And there are more trade negotiations to come between
the EU and Japan, the EU and India, and others.
ENLARGEMENT
Let me move to the second major area of unfinished
business.
Enlargement.
The great achievement after the fall of the Berlin Wall at
the end of the Cold War was the conversion of old
Soviet Union countries to democratic government,
liberal values and market economies.
Without the EU expansion as urged by Britain we could
have had much more belligerent Governments on
Europe?s eastern borders. And the world?s biggest
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marketplace, right on our doorstep, would be much
smaller.
Again, this is unfinished business.
We need further expansion.
In my opinion an EU with Turkey inside it would be
stronger and more secure. With Turkey at our side our
ability to deal with our neighbours in Russia and the
Middle East would be considerably improved.
We are beginning to negotiate membership for other
countries in the Balkans so as to end forever the
conflicts and instability of that part of the world.
BRITISH LEADERSHIP
These are only two examples of European policies
which enable Britain to have a stronger and more
influential role in tackling problems in today?s
complicated world in which the fates of nations are so
closely interconnected.
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Achieving these enormous goals is not easy. It requires
a hard headed approach. Tough negotiation. Strategic
vision.
All things which we the British have always prided
themselves on having in spades.
Getting as far as we have on the Single Market was
largely testament to Margaret forging ahead with a bold
and positive plan.
Enlarging the European Union to replace the Soviet
Union in eastern Europe with free democratic market
economy nations was pursued strongly by British
Conservative Governments.
There is a huge potential prize out there for the United
Kingdom if only we focus our attention and influence in
any future negotiations on the positive things that really
matter.
We need to concentrate on what we are in favour of
and not just what we are against.
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CONCLUSION
That this is not more deeply understood in this country
is perhaps because the case has not been made
properly for British membership of the EU for many
years.
The time has obviously now come for us to put the case
more strongly and more coherently.
It is in our vital national interest that we avoid the fatal
mistake that would be a No vote if a referendum is held
in the next few years.
We need to create strong support for a better European
Union within which Britain can exert power and
influence in the modern world.
ENDS
YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THE SPEECHES HERE IF YOU CAN STOMACH IT
www.britishinfluence.org
