The Future of Europe – 7.9.04 - Palace of Westminster
Speakers: Dr Charles Tannock MEP and Bill Wiggin MP
The Chairman introduced Bill Wiggin first as he had to leave soon after his speech and questions. Dr Charles Tannock followed on afterwards.
Bill Wiggin MP has been Member of Parliament for Leominster since 2001 and has served as Shadow Minister for the Environment in 2003. He is now Shadow Sec of State for Wales. In his future career he was a banker and currency options trader, specialising in currency derivatives.
Wales
He described Wales as an incredible place: much poorer than most imagine and very beautiful. However, it remains a not very Conservative country. However there is a binding force and unity in this nation and he quoted the Bible as an example of his feeling for the country as a whole: “Peace and the Love of the Lord is beyond all understanding. Love endures forever”. He said there was strength in unity.
Wales has mini embassies abroad – they cost a lot and do little. William Hague attracted vast investment into Wales - more than any other Welsh Secretary – through the Welsh Development Agency (taken into the Civil Service recently). Now, over 73,000 people are employed in Wales by overseas-owned manufacturers thanks to inward investment. Manufacturing productivity in Wales is significantly higher than the UK average, while at the same time labour costs are considerably lower. In 2001 Wales saw $800 million of inward investment and over the last 20 years, more than 450 internationally-based companies have established operations in Wales, investing nearly $23 billion. The leading foreign direct investors into Wales are: USA – 170 businesses - 30,700 employees; EU countries – 197 businesses – 19,600 employees; Japan – 58 businesses – 14,300 employees.
Vision for Europe
The present style of Government is frightening and disappointing. Europe must be positive – not a country called Europe but a Europe of nation states. Wales is the gateway to Europe for foreign investment. We need a Europe that in creating jobs, not regulations, prosperous and not declining, fit for the challenges of the 21st century, and ready to compete with China and USA.
He said that devolution has been a real eye-opener. The sleeping giant is nationalism – there is sever deprivation in parts of Wales.
There are no Conservative MPs in Wales at the moment – the next General Election will be good. The Welsh Assembly Conservative members are punching way above their weight. There is a lot to play for. Wales needs a good strong government as do we all in Britain and the best way to get that is to elect a Welsh-born Prime Minister. Michael Howard was born in Llanelli – great things can happen in Wales!
Dr Charles Tannock MEP has been an MEP for the London region since 1999 and has just been appointed UK Delegation Deputy Chief Whip (June 2004). His career began as House Surgeon in Middlesex Hospital, London, and progressed to Consultant Psychiatrist and Hon Sec Lecturer at University College Hospital, London. He is fluent in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Dr Tannock explained that he was one of three Tories for London – a huge area to cover. It is now estimated that over 50% of UK legislation has its origin in the EU.
Enlargement of EU
The EU, a body of 25 states, have a population of 450 million – the biggest Economic zone in the world and even bigger than the USA and in population only third behind India and China. A truly massive market. He feels that the enlagement process has to be a good thing. .
The new European Parliament has 730 MEPs and the debates are more interesting the new countries are more Atlanticist and reform-minded and less politically integrationist. Also, English is the de facto working language – winning over the French.
The British government’s decision, under Conservative pressure, to tighten-up the habitual residence rules is correct and the inflow is now manageable. Security is improving for our continent as all acceding countries bar Malta and Cyprus will shortly be joining NATO.
Problems with enlargement: cost of translation of potentially 380 languages combinations – pushing the EU translation bill to £700 millions. Other problems include agricultural subsidies estimated at £11 billion Euros for 2004, the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus, Romania – failure to fight corruption and promote child welfare. Ukraine is a wonderful country and has expressed an interest to join as has Moldova. Problem of tendency to too much uncosted red tape and bureaucracy which flies in the face of the Lisbon Agenda for economic reform: this is the ambitious plan to become by 2010 the ‘most competitive and knowledge-based economy in the world’. New Commission President, Durrao Barroso, seems determined to tackle this. Issue of EU Constitution has temporarily gone away. UK opposed and have never seen the need for a written UK Constitution, let alone a EU one.
Progress with EU: created a single market of 450 million people with the right of all EU citizens to live, work or retire in any member state. Achieved some of highest environmental and food safety standards in the world. Improvement to human rights throughout the world. Business and jobs can all too easily move East to a much less regulated Ukraine or even further afield to China or India where already call centres fielding UK callers are being set-up. This process is known as outsourcing.
The one-size fits all monetary policy of the overvalued Euro hasn’t helped, hence Tory opposition to the single currency.
Dr Tannock believes in a flexible variable geometry for Europe so that those countries which wish for more integration can do so through enhanced co-operation. This means, for example, the possibility of different arrangements for the Euro for Britain, Denmark and Sweden.
He said that Britain in this House is the birthplace of Parliamentary democracy and we must cherish it. Otherwise, the price of complacency and apathy will be a vacuum developing which on a low turnout means that well-organised fringe or extremist groups will do disproportionately well. It was reassuring to see that the turn-out at the Euro elections increased considerably. In future we must take as much care to vote for MEPs as we do for MPs.