Cameron's letter on growth demonstrates UK's leadership in Europe
Posted, February 21, 2012 @ 12:00
A letter signed by 12 European leaders, urging the EU to focus on growth in tackling the economic crisis, is an indication of the UK's leading role in Europe, the leader of Britain's Conservative MEPs said today.
Martin Callanan today hailed Britain's role in pushing the initiative forward and said support from countries including Spain and Italy showed Britain was far from alone in challenging the EU's current priorities.
The letter, sent to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Von Rompuy ahead of next week's EU summit, calls for urgent action to tackle the EU's "crisis of growth".
Led by Britain's David Cameron and Holland's Mark Rutte, 10 other leaders have signed the letter. It puts forward an eight-point plan for growth, including reducing the burden on business of EU red tape, advancing the single market through stronger enforcement and driving forward the digital economy.
Mr Callanan, Conservative MEP for the North East, said: "The Prime Minister, of course, is absolutely right to demand that the EU's leaders concentrate on growth and stop wasting their efforts on treaties that will solve nothing.
"The really encouraging thing is that 11 other countries now seem to see things the same way as us. They too want to see action not words and it seems they too would welcome a rolling back of restrictive social legislation such as the working-time and the agency-workers directives, which cripple expansion and obstruct growth.
"Again it shows that Britain, rather than being isolated in Europe, is pointing the way."