Letter to the Editor

France and the EU market

Sir - Following Nicolas Sarkozy's uplifting state visit, amid the talk of defence co-operation and the new Entente Amicale, there is no more imperative issue than Britain and France working together to promote economic dynamism.

France is the third largest market for British exporters, with exports of about £20 billion a year, approximately 10 per cent of total exports.

France is the second largest European investor in Britain and nearly 2,000 French companies or subsidiaries in the United Kingdom employ more than 300,000 people. About 300,000 French people work in Britain (many highly skilled), and thousands of Britons live in France or have invested in French property.

Mr Sarkozy praised the reforms undertaken in Britain "to restore the value of effort, encourage innovation, the spirit of enterprise and sense of personal responsibility". A European Union that enforces and enhances the single market can be part of that economic vitality.

We hope that Mr Sarkozy and Gordon Brown will commit themselves to a plan of economic action that moves both national economies forward, addresses the current banking difficulties and positions the European Union's single market as integral to their success.

Roland Rudd, Chairman, Business for New Europe, Sir Stephen Wall, Vice-Chairman, Business for New Europe, London EC2