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Time for Blair to Match Words With Action on Presidency
Wednesday October 26 2005
Tony Blair has failed to follow spin with substance in the UK's presidency of the EU but must not succumb to the temptation to make political gestures at the Hampton Court summit on Thursday to help salvage something positive from his six-month term at the helm of the EU, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, said today.
Speaking after Conservative MEPs met the British prime minister ahead of a European Parliament debate on tomorrow's informal summit of EU leaders, Mr Kirkhope said there was a palpable sense of disappointment across the political spectrum at Mr Blair's apparent inability to confront major issues facing Europe.
Mr Kirkhope said the PM's agreement to hold a question-and-answer session with Conservative MEPs - the largest UK delegation in the parliament - was an indication of their influence and importance in promoting policies which the prime minister himself had come to support. Mr Kirkhope said the session was most welcome and appreciated.
Mr Kirkhope said the presidency had failed to live up to the promise of reform and progress in several key areas contained in the prime minister's speech to the European Parliament back in June. He said the fact that the summit was to be an informal discussion about globalisation - rather than concentrating on tough issues like the EU budget and economic reform - indicated the prime minister's reluctance to confront such issues.
But Mr Kirkhope said the prime minister should resist any urge to make political gestures in order to keep other countries on side. Specifically, Mr Kirkhope said that the prime minister should be resolute on three issues: no resuscitation of the European constitution after its comprehensive rejection in France and the Netherlands; no breach of the EU spending limit of one per cent of gross national income or sellout on the UK's budget rebate; and no compromise with the opponents of economic reform, which is so vital to Europe's future prosperity.
Mr Kirkhope said:
"The summit will discuss economic reform and the challenges the EU faces with globalisation. Where are the concrete proposals from the presidency? Where is leadership on the real challenges Europe faces from the emerging economic giants of China and India?
"Where is leadership on the future of Europe? There is a vacuum in the EU. Britain should be leading the way in setting out proposals for a new kind of European Union, one that breaks out of the old debate on the constitution and starts addressing the real needs of people.
"Where is leadership on the future financing of the EU? The prime minister says he does not want this to dominate the summit. But the United Kingdom has a vital interest in this matter. It would appear the government is ready to do a deal on the British budget rebate without the fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
"I said at the outset of this presidency that it should be judged not by rhetoric, but by results.
"But there are two summits to come on the prime minister's watch, so he has time to make real progress between now and the end of the presidency.
"We had hoped that the rhetoric of his June speech would, by now, be matched by some solid progress in all the areas he mentioned.
"Sweeping difficult problems under the carpet for future presidencies to grapple with is not the kind of leadership we had been led to expect from the prime minister. We await results."
ENDS
