1 July 2005
Tony Blair spoke to journalists on the day the UK took over the EU presidency. Alongside him was José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.
Parts of this transcript may have been edited
Opening statements
Mr Blair:
First of all can I say a very warm word of welcome to President Barroso at this occasion at the start of the UK Presidency, and what I would like to do is to outline for you some of the things we want to try and achieve over the next six months.
It is a great honour for Britain to take on the European Presidency. I think the one thing that everybody in Europe would agree on is that this is an interesting moment to take on the Presidency of the European Union, for sure. We have got a number of different tasks, some of them more general, some very specific. The general task is to try to initiate in a co-operative and in an inclusive way a debate about the future direction of Europe. To that end we have agreed that it would be sensible for the Presidency to hold an informal summit in the autumn, at which the leaders of Europe can come together and discuss how Europe makes progress in the future, how we give the energy and commitment to the European project. And for that summit, the European Commission, in accordance with the decisions of the European Council, will produce a paper on the sustainability of the social model in Europe in the light of the changes that are happening all around us today, and I am grateful to President Barroso for his cooperation in that. That is one part of what will inevitably happen then over the next few months, which is a debate about the future direction of Europe.
In respect of the specifics, obviously there is the issue of the financial perspective of the European Union. We will do our best to make progress and to reach agreement, whether it is possible or not I really don’t know, and neither does anyone at this stage. It is important obviously that we try to reach agreement, particularly after what happened at the previous summit of the European Union, and it is important too to try and make sure that we establish a basis that is good for Europe in the future. So that is obviously one major part of the undertaking of the Presidency.
But then there are a series of very specific things that we will try to do. In respect of enlargement, we obviously must take forward the enlargement negotiations that are up-coming in the next six months. We also want to work with the Commission on an initiative in respect of better regulation. One of the things that everybody accepts in Europe is the need to make sure that the regulation that comes out of Europe does not impede competitiveness of our economy, or interfere unnecessarily with the lives of our citizens. The President of the Commission has actually announced today that there will be, for future regulation, a change in the assessment guidelines so that what is assessed about future regulation is not simply those things presently there in the assessment, but also specifically the issue of competitiveness and how that impacts on costs to business on the ground. I really welcome that Jose, I think it is a very important initiative. And in addition to that there is being undertaken in the Commission at the moment a review of the existing Community legislation and how it can be codified and modernised, and if necessary, if it is no longer necessary, withdrawn and that is important too.
We also want to make progress on the Services Directive and the Working Time Directive, again these are issues that have been a particular difficulty over the past few months. We will do our best, using both some ingenuity and attempt to find agreement to get a way through, because it is important that both of those issues are resolved.
In addition we had a presentation this morning on the justice and home affairs part of the agenda, and there are a series of things that the British Presidency and the European Commission are working on. One is how we get better operational cooperation in respect of intelligence for terrorism and illegal immigration and organised crime across Europe, how we take particular measures in Europe against terrorism, how we ensure, particularly in respect of people trafficking, that we try and get good returns agreements with neighbouring countries in the European Union, and with other countries from which illegal immigrants and often people who are deeply exploited come into the European Union, and in respect of the strengthening of the European borders against people trafficking, organised crime and illegal immigration.
And then finally there is the area of foreign policy and defence, where we hope we can make progress on Africa, on climate change, which are obviously issues for our G8 chairmanship as well, and in respect of the Middle East peace process where the whole of Europe has an interest in making progress in that regard. And potentially at any rate too we will see what we can do in respect of defence capability, because I have as you know been a supporter of European defence. I think the single most important thing for us is to try and get the right capabilities in Europe to take European defence forward.
So there will be a debate about the future direction, discussions on future financing, enlargement taken forward, initiatives on better regulation, an attempt to resolve the dossiers on the Services Directive and Working Time Directive and other individual pieces of legislation, there will be initiatives on justice and home affairs. And in respect of foreign policy, Africa, climate change, the Middle East, we will try to take those issues forward as well.
I would like, just in conclusion, to thank President Barroso and his colleagues for coming along today. It was a very engaged and constructive discussion, and for all the difficulties and the fact that it is a difficult moment to take on the Presidency of the European Union, we intend to make the very best of it. And I look forward to working with him, he has given tremendous and strong leadership to the Commission since he has become the European President and I am honoured and privileged to have him here, and his colleagues, today.
Mr Barroso:
Thank you very much Tony. I am really delighted to be here today in Britain with the Prime Minister. We had a very good meeting with Prime Minister Blair and his government, thank you very much for your kind hospitality, and also for the very constructive and productive meetings.
You know any time there is a new Presidency we know that is a very historic moment, that is a very crucial moment. This time it happens to be true. We are really in a very specific moment in Europe, after the two No votes in very important member states of the Union, after the non-approval of the budget in the last European Council, so it is a rest period for European politics, and that is why this British Presidency has a really very important responsibility.
We all agreed that after the two No votes there should be a period of reflection, debate, a discussion at national level and at European level, so I really welcome the initiative from Prime Minister Blair to hold an informal European Council in the autumn on the future of Europe. We agreed that such an informal European Council should look at the sustainability of our European social model and the challenges that our model faces in the 21st century. The Commission will be happy to give a contribution to this debate. We will table a document on that topic.
But the world will not stop for us, there is plenty of urgent business to get on with, and so we should avoid any risk of paralysis, we need to show that Europe is in business. That is why I would like to tell you that the golden priorities outlined by Prime Minister Blair for the UK Presidency of the next six months closely match those of the European Commission. Prime Minister Blair can count on our support in working towards them.
Let me highlight just some of them. The budget for Europe after 2013, this is what we call in Europe the financial perspective, this is real urgent because we need an agreement to avoid paralysis in the Union beyond 2007 to ensure that we continue to deliver our key policies. My clear message is that all leaders must work for consensus. We are a union of 25, very soon we hope 27, which is diverse and no-one is going to impose its own point of view to the others. To reach an agreement everyone will have to contribute, this is the only way to make an agreement possible under the UK’s Presidency.
Another priority that we share is economic renewal and reform, these remain the cornerstone of the Commission and this is indispensable to secure a future for the European way of life that we want to preserve. This is the programme, we have a launch, a re-launch of Lisbon, competitiveness with prosperity and solidarity, that is where our programme for better regulation comes, and I thank Prime Minister Blair for his words, we really need that support for going ahead with that programme. In March we launched the so-called Better Regulation Initiative, it means that the Commission will make sure that legislation is only proposed when necessary, and that the Commission will clean up existing regulations, sometimes old-fashioned, sometimes simply absurd, let’s be honest, sometimes absurd legislation. And we are now going on this exercise and we hope that during the British Presidency we will come with the first results on that very important exercise, because I think it will reinforce the confidence, not only of the business community, but all citizens in the European institutions.
Another priority we will work on, among several priorities in the foreign affairs field, because we both believe that Europe should not be introspective, Europe should be looking forward and looking outside Europe. One of the priorities is Africa. Africa is a flagship issue of the Commission. Europe is already doing a lot for Africa, we are already the biggest aid donor in the world, contributing 55% of overall aid, but we can do, and we must do more. In the build up to the G8 summit, and I very much welcome the fact that Prime Minister Blair gave it a very clear priority, Europe has shown real leadership in putting the European Union on track to double its aid by 2015. Already by 2010 we will have 20 billion Euros more of aid per year, half of it going to Africa. With this agreement the European Union will provide over half of the $50 billion that the Commission for Africa says sub-Saharan Africa needs by 2010. It is the single biggest commitment in the run-up to the G8 summit, I hope that it will have a powerful persuasive effect in raising the overall commitment made.
So, just to conclude this introduction, let me tell you that I really believe that the pragmatic British approach, combined with conviction and a strong belief in the European project can bring real success in building the consensus for the urgent decisions that Europe needs. From my talks today with Prime Minister Blair, from our meeting between the Commission and the British Cabinet, I have every reason to think that the British Presidency will be a success, and let me tell you that we are ready to fully support Prime Minister Blair and the British Presidency on the very important tasks ahead.
Question and answer session
Question:
A number of process questions. This special summit, will that pre-empt possibly the period of reflection and actually come to a conclusion about the constitution? Will it be in Brussels? And on the financial perspective, does the sort of declared intent to sort this out mean that you are actually going to turn the December summit into one of those deadline negotiating sessions or not, is that a commitment now? And could I ask Mr Barroso whether you stand by the position that although, as you made clear in the Guardian today, you think both sides should move, that in fact you believe that on the financial perspective the 2002 agricultural agreement can’t be opened up this side of 2013, whereas the British rebate can?
Prime Minister:
Just on the final point, we will just have to see how we go on the financial perspective, because there is no point in us pretending that there aren’t real issues and real difficulties, but we will do our best and that is all we can do, and let’s see. And obviously if we were to start making progress, then it would be in the December summit that you would be able to get an agreement. I don’t think one would be possible before then. In respect of the special summit, I think we would have this actually in the UK, the informal summit would be here in the UK. The most important thing is to try and get people to come together and debate around a paper provided by the European Commission, how we make sense of the dilemma of Europe today, which is the desire to be a strong competitive economy, and a desire to keep in place a strong social dimension where we are looking after our citizens, making sure people are given proper protection when they are changing their jobs, how we are equipping our people on the basis of justice, and fairness and solidarity, to be able to face the challenges of today. Now that is the dilemma of the European social model, and how do we find a way through that? And I think that underlying the debate in Europe is that question, and obviously it is taking something of a risk to go right to the heart of the issue of the social model, but I think it is sensible to do it. Everybody knows that that is the debate that is going on in Europe, so let’s have it.
Mr Barroso:
On the question that was addressed to me, as you said in your question, I said everybody has to move, and when I say everybody I mean everybody, not just one part. Let’s be frank, without a real effort of consensus for the financial perspective we will not have the solution, so I ask all leaders - all leaders - to fight hard to get a consensus, to get an agreement. That is why we have come with I think an interesting idea in the last council, and I hope that the British Presidency will keep that idea, to have a kind of a rendezvous clause, some intermediate analysis so that all matters of the budget can be assessed. But we should not now re-open the whole issue, before we should have a kind of a rendezvous clause so that we can look at the budget and at the priorities, but not wait for that re-opening of all the questions before we really engage trying to find a solution. I understand that is precisely the idea of Prime Minister Blair. So we are not now going to negotiate in public, I am not going to do that, but my duty is to call, to urge all leaders of Europe to really make an effort because Europe needs that consensus to go forward with its programme, especially at this particular moment in time.
Question (Juan Carlos Gonzales, El Mundo):
A question for Mr Blair. I wonder what will be for the United Kingdom Presidency the ideal level of CAP spending in 2013, and I don’t want you to negotiate in public, but less than 20% of the total budget of the EU at the end of the period?
Prime Minister:
Well it is a very tempting question, but it is a temptation I will resist. Look, everybody has got their positions in this debate, and the British position is very clear, so is the position of other countries. We are at the start of our Presidency of the European Union. I think what is sensible is to start that Presidency with the general principle, which is that we should try to find an agreement. Now that is not resiling from anyone’s position on any side, but I think what the President has just said a moment or two ago is very right. I don’t think it is probably very sensible to negotiate in public.
Question (Mark Mardell, BBC TV):
Mr Blair, some people in Europe will interpret what you have said as an attempt to get rid of the social model. What would you say to them? And Mr Barroso, how important is the social model, some social elements to Europe?
Prime Minister:
I said in the European Parliament, and I know some people say well you said that in the European Parliament but you have never said it in Britain, let me say it in Britain. I believe in the European Union and Britain’s membership of it, I believe in Europe as a project with a strong social dimension. Europe is not just about free trade and it is not just about the economy, but it is no use us trying to compete in a difficult changing world unless we are prepared to make the changes necessary, including not abandoning our social model, but updating it, modernising it. And countries have to go through this process, businesses have to go through this process, and the European Union likewise. Now I believe it is possible to get an agreement, based on the facts about how we make progress in this social model debate, it is the heart of everything that is happening in the European Union, and what I have pointed out to people when I was in the European Parliament is that in Britain we have an active welfare policy, we have a minimum wage, we have legislation that protects people at work, we have massive investments in our public services going on, as you know, we are putting more money into science and technology and training and skills, all of this is part of a social model, it is just a social model for today’s world. And when we had a discussion with the Commission this morning it was interesting just to see the degree to which every part of the Commission is now thinking about this massive competitive challenge, and people in Europe want us to address it. And my worry is very, very simple, and it is not dissimilar to arguments I have had in a different context before. If the sensible moderate people at the centre ground don’t grasp the challenge of change, what happens is extremes start peddling solutions to the public that are actually no real solutions at all but have a certain appeal. People say well the problem is all immigration, or the problem is all globalisation, and you end up with the extremes on left and right taking the agenda. My anxiety is to make the change in the European social model so that we keep our principles intact, but we also reinvigorate support amongst people in Europe for the idea of a Europe that is about a competitive economy, but also a just and decent society.
Mr Barroso:
I believe that the European Union, without a strong social commitment, is not a union, it is something else. The idea of solidarity is at the very core of the European Union project - social cohesion, solidarity, support for the weakest in our society. This is obvious, and our European Union is not only about markets, it is also about markets, but more than markets, it is markets and our social commitment. That is the tradition of the European Union and I know that what we have to do now, as Prime Minister Blair just underlined, is to adapt what we usually call our social model, by social model we mean a system of open economy with relatively high social protection, and relatively high environmental conditions, and to the new conditions, the conditions of globalisation, of an ageing population, to the development of technology, and this is the real issue of the beginning of the 21st century. But to have an ambitious social model we need growth. Without growth in Europe we cannot deliver on the expectations for more social justice that our citizens have, and that is why we need a dynamic modern economy in Europe, that is why the real answer isn’t strategy, it is about growth and jobs - growth and jobs. This is a very social programme, only with growth can we really respond to those in societies that we have in Europe, and to a very important social agenda. So this is our idea and I really believe it is a mistake that sometimes happens in the debate in Europe to put the free market on one side against the social. We need both. I mean it is not without the free open market that we are going to deliver on an ambitious social policy, we need both and believe that is the understanding of the British Presidency. I can tell you this is our understanding in the European Commission and we are ready to work in this direction.
Question:
Prime Minister, how will the UK’s Presidency affect Turkey’s prospective membership?
Prime Minister:
Well it is important we carry through the obligations that have been entrusted to us as the Presidency from the European Council, and so that is a process that is set in place, with a date for the starting of the accession negotiations, and there are certain criteria that have to be met, and those criteria should be met. And it is a balance between keeping to our obligations as I say already there in the European Council decisions, and making sure that each part of those obligations, both on the side of Turkey and the European Union, are adhered to.
Question (Gary Gibbon, Channel 4 News):
People are contemplating that the next budget deal may be one that has to park the Common Agricultural Policy reform, and the British debate, both of them perhaps on one side. Would that be acceptable to you Prime Minister, and to you President Barroso? And can I ask you President Barroso, when you talked about people coming to summits and treating them like a boxing match, who did you have in mind?
Prime Minister:
Look, I think I have probably said all I can say about the up-coming debate on the financial perspective. All countries have got their positions that are very clear, the President has just spoken about the so-called rendezvous, or a review clause, to try and set a new direction in which everything is considered. But let’s see how well we do. And as I say, I don’t think this is the moment, at the very start of our Presidency, to launch into the details of what that debate and discussion might be. Always as the incoming President of the European Union you represent your own country, you are also trying to take forward negotiations in the European Union. The British position is very clear, but it is important I think that we look to see is there any possibility of reaching agreement. And to be honest Gary, I don’t know the answer whether there is or there isn’t, we will investigate and we will look at it and I know the Commission will help us.
Question:
When I made that remark I was not referring to any specific personality, I was referring to a presentation of the European Council and European meetings in Brussels, and I really think that is a very important point, a very important point. Usually when we have a Council or a meeting of Ministers in Brussels, very often it is presented as who won and who lost, and it is presented very often as a boxing match, and this is wrong, and we have to explain to our people that we are now 25 countries. Of course we have different views, could anyone expect a different thing from 25 leaders, from 25 independent countries, we have different views, that is obvious, and we are negotiating. And the idea of compromise is not that one is giving in, it is not that one is giving up, it is not that one is giving away the national … So my appeal as President of the Commission is a very strong appeal to all leaders of Europe to avoid the national or the nationalistic rhetoric now. Of course I was also Prime Minister, all Prime Ministers have to defend first of all the national interests of their countries, but they can and they should do it in a way that also goes to the European interest. That is why I believe it is wrong to present always the meetings we have in Brussels or wherever in terms of those who won and those who lost. And on the contrary, we have to explain to our public that in a European Union of 25 with such important goals, we have to accept some level of compromise. This is the sensible, the reasonable, the rational thing to do. I know that today’s times are not very easy for rational explanations, it is more easy populism, but the duty of a strong and responsible leadership is to fight those manifestations of populism and say this is the right way. Because alone we can do nothing, neither Germany, nor France, nor Britain, not any other smaller country can do nothing alone. In the present globalised world, only if you act together we can really deliver what our people want. So we have to re-educate, I am sorry to use this word, but to explain to our people that this is a very important culture of compromise, the culture that we need to make some compromises so that we can have a win-win situation, and so far the European Union has been I think a win-win situation for most of the members of the European Union.
Do you agree with that?
Prime Minister:
I think it was a great try.
Question:
Last summer you said that resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict would be at the top of your agenda. Now Britain is holding the Presidency of Europe and is the host for the G8 summit, so what efforts, what plans do you have to achieve it?
Prime Minister:
At the G8 next week, I hope, but I can’t yet be sure that there will be a specific initiative on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and we are working on that at the moment, I can’t make any commitments or promises on it, but I hope it will form part of our summit, and I have set aside time within the summit now to do this, because there have been developments over the past few days that lead me to believe we may be able to make some progress there. And in respect of the European Union, I think it is well timed that Europe took an initiative on the Middle East itself and how we can assist the progress of reconciliation and peace there. We are about to go through an immensely difficult period with the Israeli government, with some courage I think, carrying through its disengagement process from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, and it is essential that we work together, Europe, America, the United Nations, Russia and those members of the Quartet, plus obviously Israelis and Palestinians, to try and find progress for this area, because I think there is a new atmosphere of hope there, but it is very, very fragile, very fragile.
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