| I am delighted to be here today in
my capacity as the Minister for Industry.
It’s always a great pleasure to meet people from
beyond the confines of government.
But more than that, it is absolutely vital that we
hold open as wide as possible the channels of communication between those
of us who are formulating policy and developing legislation and those who
are affected by that legislation in their businesses and daily lives.
Nowhere is this more important than in the context of Europe.
Without question, the European Single Market has
brought real and substantial benefits to the business community. At the
most basic level, 60 million customs clearance documents per year are no
longer needed. Harmonised standards have produced a level playing field
for manufacturers across the EU. And “mutual recognition” of goods
produced in one member state by all the others has opened up new markets.
As a testimony to this success, trade within the Single Market has grown
by 10% since 1993 and up to 3 million UK jobs are now linked to that
trade.
We cannot, however, sit on our laurels. 2004 has
been a momentous year for Europe. Enlargement has opened up new markets,
the IGC, which will help the EU function more efficiently, has been
agreed, and was signed by the Prime Minister on Friday. We have a new
Commission and a new European Parliament.
And there are more changes ahead - and some
important opportunities, not least as we gear up for the UK Presidency of
the European Council in the second half of next year.
Our Presidency presents a significant opportunity
to shape the European agenda. To inject new energy into important
activities. To rein back some more foolhardy suggestions where these are
likely to damage competitiveness.
Our agenda for the Presidency takes up this
challenge.
Back in 2000, European ministers agreed a list of
actions aimed at making the EU economy the most efficient in the world by
2010 – the so-called “Lisbon Agenda”. Half way through, our achievements
are yet to match our ambitions. Our first priority then is to give fresh
impetus to the Economic reform initiative, with new clearly defined,
achievable actions and objectives.
In addition, we will attack the red tape that
holds businesses back. Some EU rules have become obsolete; others are
unnecessarily complicated. We are now in the process of identifying those
measures which can be rationalised and those which can be scrapped all
together, as a first step towards improving the regulatory framework of
the Single Market.
So we are committed to making the rules simpler
and more transparent.
We are also determined to ensure that new rules
act in support of our economic objectives. They need to open up markets in
ways that make entry for new businesses easier across the whole of the EU,
while ensuring fair and equal treatment for all.
This is particularly true for the European
Commission’s Company Law and Corporate Governance Action Plan. The aim of
the plan is to create a framework within which people can invest and trade
with businesses in confidence, allowing business to thrive and investors
to benefit. We therefore support it as a platform for promoting enterprise
and competitiveness throughout the EU, not as a means to introduce
regulation for its own sake.
Indeed in the modern, global marketplace we need
to retain flexibility for Member States and our businesses. Our business
cultures, company law frameworks and shareholding structures are diverse.
The challenge is to have an EU framework which respects that diversity. If
we get it right, the Action Plan will encourage the development and
effective implementation of national regimes, within a common framework
that avoids inflexible regulation at EU level.
Hand in hand with market opening measures within
the EU, we want to open up the EU to business with the rest of the world.
Industries which need government help to operate in the global market
place drag the rest of the economy down. We have to be prepared to expose
our businesses to international competition. That way we can identify and
focus on activities where we can really add value.
Where we do provide financial support, it should
be targeted at the industries of the future, rather than those of the
past. We need to make sure that European funding streams make a genuine
contribution to our prosperity. We also want to make it easier for
companies to get access to the money that’s available for research and
innovation through the Framework Programme. And we need to establish the
sort of positive economic climate that encourages investors to come
forward with the venture capital that will turn promising new ideas into
promising new businesses.
And if we succeed in putting in place the
conditions for a leaner more competitive European economy, where
businesses can flourish and expand, it will help us meet our final
objective – an economy that creates more and better jobs. Of course we
need to have decent minimum standards, but not at the expense of
flexibility. The best protection for employees is provided by a dynamic
labour market, one where the range of jobs on offer gives people a wide
choice about where, when and what hours to work in accordance with their
own circumstances.
These are some of the themes we’ve identified for
our Presidency and they are ones, which I believe will enable us to lay
the groundwork for a more competitive Europe where the businesses of the
21st century can grow and flourish. Some among you may question whether
this is truly achievable.
In fact, the UK has had a good track record as an
effective negotiator in Brussels and beyond. Faced with high unemployment
and sluggish growth, many of our partners are now more receptive than ever
to our arguments. In addition, as the new members settle down and begin to
refine their positions on key policies, the balance of power in Europe is
shifting.
To take advantage of these changing dynamics, the
government and business communities need to work together closely.
As one small example of co-operation, officials
from my department have been working together with people here at the
Institute of Directors to create a web site to help prepare businesses for
the UK Presidency.
It’s an excellent piece of work and gives plenty
of practical information about how Europe works and how business leaders
can develop an effective strategy for influencing the decision-making
process in Brussels.
I know that the Brussels machinery can sometimes
seem like a huge leviathan lumbering on with scant regard for the needs of
businesses as it churns out an ever increasing stack of rules and
regulations.
Too many take the easy of path of complaining and
doing nothing. But with a well thought out lobbying strategy, not only can
businesses make the leviathan take notice, they can turn it around and win
real concessions. And when we work together to do this, we can be even
more effective.
Take the work we have done, working with the
Chemical Industries Association, to make sure that the business view was
heard in building the new EU Chemicals Directive. Here, the voice of
business has made, and is continuing to make a difference. DTI's sectoral
understanding, industry networks and our relationship with DEFRA has meant
that we are uniquely placed to collect and present clear information on
just what the impact of the proposals would be.
And because we’ve been able to present hard
evidence to the European Commission and other Member States – not just
pleading anecdotes – we’ve had a real result. Europe has listened. Our
combined efforts – Defra, CIA and DTI - have already helped to cut back
the costs the Directive would impose on business by 10.6bn euros.
So it can be done. And you can do it too; check
the Commission web site and find out which directorate general handles the
issues which most concern you – email or write to them; write to your MEP
or plug into the lobbying organisations at the European Parliament, take
part in consultations and impact assessments, or simply write to me care
of the DTI.
Whatever your position on the EU, a prosperous and
competitive Europe, a Europe that is truly open for business, is in
everyone’s best interests. We should all be doing our best to make it a
reality.
|
