Business Leaders call for pro-Europe, pro-reform approach

As the Second Reading of the Reform Treaty Bill starts in Parliament, 35 business leaders have emphasised the importance of the UK’s relationship with the EU.

In the open letter, the business leaders stress the importance of the UK’s economic ties with the rest of Europe, and the ongoing imperative for economic reform and strengthening the single market.

The significance of 35 business leaders is that 2008 marks the 35th anniversary of the UK’s entry into the EU.

The text of the letter is as follows:

Today’s start of the Second Reading of the Reform Treaty signals the opening of a debate in Parliament which will highlight the UK’s relationship with Europe. The business community should not be silent in this debate. At a recent conference hosted by Business for New Europe and the UK government, business leaders referred to the economic ties between the UK and the rest of Europe which run far and wide. Thousands of British companies do business with the rest of Europe. Over half our trade is with the continent. Many British businesses have benefited from the free movement of labour.

Following enlargement, the single market reaches 500 million people. It is now the largest market in the world. The UK’s attractiveness as a place to do business is multiplied by the access on offer to the entire single market. It is clear that the UK’s business environment and our economy benefit enormously from our position in the European Union.

But, as business leaders, we believe that this instinctive pro-Europe approach should be complemented by a drive for further economic reform, and for an effective single market, entailing a level playing field for
all companies. We believe that the optimal approach is constructive engagement. Sometimes it is necessary to be critical of what the EU says and does. But this should be done in the context of overall support for Britain enjoying a positive relationship with the EU.

The EU is a rapidly evolving organism. In recent years, it has almost doubled its membership to 27 member states. It is moving in an economically liberal direction. The nature of contemporary challenges on
issues such as energy, migration and the environment demands European cooperation and action. We hope that following the Lisbon Treaty, the next chapter of the EU focuses on policy action on strengthening the single market and these other cross-border challenges.

(Signing in a personal capacity)

Lord Aldington (Chairman, Deutsche Bank AG London)
Lord Brittan (Vice-Chairman, UBS)
Lord Browne (Managing Partner (Europe) of Riverstone Holdings)
Alberto Calderon (Group Executive and Chief Commercial Officer, BHP Billiton)
Roger Carr (Chairman, Centrica)
Russell Chambers (Chief Executive - UK and Ireland, Credit Suisse)
Sir Ronald Cohen (Chairman, Bridge Ventures and Co-Founder, Apax Partners)
Mervyn Davies (Chairman, Standard Chartered)
Guy Dawson (Founding Partner, Tricorn Partners)
Vernon Ellis (Senior Adviser, Accenture)
Niall FitzGerald (Chairman, Reuters)
Richard Gnodde (Co-Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs International)
Sir Philip Hampton (Chairman, Sainsbury)
Stephen Hester (Chief Executive, British Land)
Lady Barbara Judge (Chairman, UKAEA)
Paul Marshall (Chairman, Marshall Wace Asset)
Andrew Moss (Chief Executive, Aviva)
Dominic Murphy (Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co Ltd)
Vijay Patel (Chief Executive, Waymade Healthcare)
Stuart Popham (Senior Partner, Clifford Chance)
Kieran Poynter (Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Sir Michael Rake (Chairman, BT Group)
Sir Nigel Rudd (Chairman, BAA)
Roland Rudd (Chairman, Business for New Europe)
Paul Skinner (Chairman, Rio Tinto)
Bryan Sanderson (Chairman, Northern Rock)
Lord Simon (Deputy Chairman, Unilever)
Sir Martin Sorrell (Chief Executive, WPP)
Peter Sutherland (Chairman, BP)
Bill Thomas (President - Europe, Middle East & Africa, EDS)
Rosemary Thorne (Non-Executive Director Abbey National)
Philippe Varin (Chief Executive, Corus)
Willie Walsh (Chief Executive Officer, British Airways)
Bob Wigley (Chairman - Europe, Middle East & Africa, Merrill Lynch)
Bill Winters (Co-Chief Executive, JP Morgan)

ENDS

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. For further information about Business for New Europe, see www.bnegroup.org or contact +44 (0) 207 256 6575, +44 (0) 7787 513 864 zaki@bnegroup.org