EU Council Meeting
Following the European Council meeting in Brussels, a spokesman for Business for New Europe said:
“The process of enlargement has brought huge benefits to both the new and established member states. The UK economy and the business community have reaped great value from this. Despite many voices of doom at the time, the accession of the states from Eastern Europe in 2004 has given a real boost to the UK economy.
Provided aspiring member states meet the established criteria, further enlargement should be encouraged. Enlargement has proved very successful at encouraging reform in the political and economic systems of many countries. We should not place further barriers in the way of aspiring member states.
The fact that so many member states wish to join the EU is a sign of Europe's success. The UK should continue to lead efforts to allow more countries to gain from these positive impacts”.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. BNE’s aim is to support the UK’s active engagement in Europe, and a reformed, enlarged and free-market EU.
2. BNE’s principles are as follows:
- We support the UK’s membership of the EU and oppose withdrawal to the margins; we support positive and constructive engagement with the EU as the only sensible approach and as vital to our national interests.
- We support a vision of a prosperous free-market Europe able to compete in a globalised world.
- We support economic liberalisation and oppose excessive EU regulation, centralisation and red tape.
- We support institutional reform, further cooperation between EU member states where it is in Britain's interests and oppose old-fashioned federalism.
- We support the enlargement of the EU including Turkey, and recognise the benefits that the recent wave of enlargement have brought.
3. BNE’s Advisory Council consists of:
Leon Brittan (Vice Chairman, UBS)
Roger Carr (Chairman, Centrica)
Richard Cousins (CEO, Compass)
Guy Dawson (Founding Partner, Tricorn Partners)
Charles Dunstone (CEO, Carphone Warehouse)
Niall FitzGerald (Chairman, Reuters)
Chris Gibson-Smith (Chairman, London Stock Exchange)
Philip Hampton (Chairman, Sainsbury)
David Levin (CEO, United Business Media)
John Parker (Chairman, National Grid)
Vijay Patel (CEO, Waymade Healthcare)
Stuart Popham (Senior Partner, Clifford Chance)
Mike Rake (Chairman, KPMG International)
Nigel Rudd (Chairman, Boots)
Bryan Sanderson (Chairman, Standard Chartered)
Martin Sorrell (CEO, WPP)
Peter Sutherland (Chairman, BP)
Rosemary Thorne (Finance Director, Ladbrokes)
Christopher Tugendhat (Chairman - European Advisory Board, Lehman Brothers)
Bob Wigley (Chairman - Europe, Middle East & Africa, Merril Lynch)
4. BNE is run on a day-to-day basis by Zaki Cooper (Director), whom is supported by Roland Rudd (Chairman) and Sir Stephen Wall (Vice-Chairman).
5. For further information about Business for New Europe, see www.bnegroup.org or contact +44 (0) 7787 513 864 press@bnegroup.org
