Brown: ‘EU membership good for Britain’

Speaking to business leaders in London, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown underlined the need for a stronger European engagement in order to secure trade, business and jobs, ahead of what will prove a difficult battle over the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in Britain.

“Europe is key to the success of business in the UK,” Brown said in his speech on 14 January 2008, delivering a very pro-European note ahead of a political struggle for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which the opposition Tories demand be put to a public vote.

The UK Parliament is set to discuss the new EU Treaty, which lays out major institutional reforms, in February and March.

Brown said that the completion of the Lisbon Treaty “means that there is now an opportunity to move on to address the challenges that matter most to Europe’s citizens: stability, growth, competitiveness and jobs”.

Brown’s government decided not to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but Tory leader David Cameron announced that he would put the text to a popular vote if his party came to power before it was ratified by all EU member states.

The UK Prime Minister warned against bringing Britain’s EU membership into question, as this would put “trade, business and jobs” at risk. “I strongly believe that rather than retreating to the sidelines, we must remain fully engaged in Europe so we can push forward the reforms that are essential for Europe’s, and Britain’s, economic future,” he added.

Recent financial turbulence was a “wake-up call”, Brown said, calling for the EU to work together to take the “immediate measures” necessary and “lead the long-term strengthening of international capacity to secure greater financial stability”. Brown is to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi later this month to discuss responses to the credit crisis.

A follow-up by EU finance ministers on financial supervision and stability arrangements in the EU, as well as the situation in financial markets, is scheduled for May this year.

Read more with Euractiv

Survey: Citizens lose trust in EU institutions, support membership

European institutions suffered a big loss of trust among EU citizens in the last six months, despite citizens' support for EU membership reaching the highest in over a decade, according to a Eurobarometer poll published on Tuesday.