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Melanie Johnson MPThe Europe 21 Conference |
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Fellow Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning. I would like to start by thanking Europe 21 and the Inwest Forum for inviting me here to speak. It is a great pleasure to be here. The aim of this conference is to raise the profile of the investment opportunities in the Visegrad countries. And, with EU enlargement getting ever closer, there could not be a better time for doing this. Enlargement to the East is one of the most important developments for the EU in its history. One of the greatest challenges. But also one of the greatest opportunities. The Government is a champion of enlargement. Let me be clear why. Nobody who considers how the European Union has underpinned stability and the reconstruction of post War Western Europe can doubt the benefits enlargement can bring. Enlargement will also increase our prosperity. It will give UK business access to the largest single market in the world: some half a billion customers. This is larger than the USA and Japan combined. And it will admit to the single market countries who have displayed, in recent years, impressively high growth rates. Independent research estimates that, as a result of all that, Britain's GDP will receive a boost of around £1.75 billion. And a survey by the European Round Table of Industrialists estimates that enlargement will create 300,000 jobs across the current 15 EU member states. But there's no point supporting enlargement in principle if in practice we see delays. The process needs to keep moving on. Fortunately, it is. After a lot of hard work by the candidates, the Commission and the Member States, the Gothenburg Summit set early target dates for ending negotiations and for the first accessions. We will be doing everything we can to make those candidates who are ready can participate, as members, in the 2004 European Parliament elections . And there has been more than just the setting of target dates. The Swedish Presidency saw progress in the detailed negotiations to make the achievement of those target dates possible. The difficult issues of environment, free movement of workers, and patent protection for pharmaceuticals have all seen major steps forward, and we have reached agreement on each of these chapters with four or more of the candidates. Under the Belgian Presidency, we will tackle the equally tricky issues of transport, competition policy, and agriculture. It will not be easy, but I have every confidence that with the same commitment and drive , the Belgian Presidency will keep up with the timetable of negotiations. Hopefully they will exceed it. Enforcement is also moving up the agenda of these discussions. Proper and effective enforcement of the rules which govern the single market is vital. I know that all the candidate nations are under enormous pressure to pass vast quantities of legislation and to make progress in the negotiations by closing chapters. The enforcement must be right if this is to pay dividends. So there must be sufficient resources in the institutions; the right training for key staff and procedures which actually work efficiently and effectively. We will not get the benefits which this conference is promoting if, for instance, customs procedures are so slow that goods cannot move quickly across the enlarged market. I know this is no easy task. In adopting all existing EU legislation, the candidates are being asked to do in a few years what we in the UK have taken nearly 30 to do. And this is on top of the enormous structural changes needed to move to a free-market economy. We in the DTI hope to make this all a bit easier by helping with technical assistance wherever we can. We are involved in a number of long term twinning projects, involving the secondment of key officials to the new members, and also many shorter visits and projects. We are always keen to look at new requests for help, and will respond positively wherever we can. So we support enlargement, and are helping to move the process forward. But the benefits of enlargement will only come to Britain if we watch for the opportunities and move to take advantage of them. That is why this event today is so important. It is all about fostering long-term partnerships with Central European markets. We believe that building such long term links - political, cultural, economic and commercial - is key to cementing economic prosperity and stability in Europe. And Trade Partners UK - the trade and investment arm of Government - is at the forefront of this. They work to provide a seamless flow of information and assistance to British companies, large and small, seeking to develop their international business activities in markets across the globe. An example is their 'Opportunities in Central Europe' campaign, which resulted in over 1,000 British companies being introduced to the Central European markets - as potential investors or suppliers to local businesses, some of which have themselves been the beneficiaries of foreign capital. Trade Partners UK will continue to keep a watchful eye on further opportunities for potential British investors in Central Europe. And it will ensure that the investment agencies in those countries can provide information and advice directly to potential investors. The last few years in Central Europe have proved the vital importance of foreign direct investment in transforming an economy. In all the Visegrad countries major foreign investments have stimulated enormous increases in productivity as up to date practices are adopted throughout the supply chains. This then has a positive effect deep into the economy. And it makes good sense for the foreign investor, too. But in the long term such investment will only be attracted to countries with a commercial environment which supports business, encourages firms to grow, and where commercial laws are transparent - and enforced predictably. A major issue for EU leaders is how to make Europe an even better place to do business: the so-called economic reform agenda. I was delighted to see EU leaders at the Stockholm and Gothenburg summits commit themselves to involving all the candidates in this process. We all have much to learn. Against this background, the level of British business interest in Central Europe has risen dramatically in recent years. Since 1992, the volume of UK exports has risen four-fold to £3.2 billion in 2000. Bilateral trade between the UK and Central Europe is nearly double that figure - at £5.9 billion. The amount of UK direct investment in Central Europe is also growing, now over £2.5 billion and rising all the time. Many of the UK's biggest names in many different sectors have invested in Central Europe, including Tesco, Bernard Matthews, Pilkington and GlaxoSmithKline. Events like this have a vital role to play in ensuring a successful enlargement of the single market brings with it all the benefits it should, for new members and old. Commercial contacts are a very important part of that and I hope that colleagues will also use this opportunity to share perspectives about the EU, both in its present state, and its direction for the future. So with that, I would like to thank the organisers once again for inviting me, and to wish you all every success for the rest of the day. Thank you. |
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Other speeches by Melanie Johnson MP
(the following are available from the archive) |
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