PM makes case for confident Europe
The Prime Minister has called upon European economies to act with confidence by tackling sovereign debt issues and driving enterprise, innovation and open trade.
In a speech to delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the PM said it was time to “kill off the spectre” of sovereign debt, noting that the average EU government debt now totalled almost 80 percent of GDP.
Citing the case of the UK, Mr Cameron said that recent levels of borrowing were “unsustainable” and that “action cannot be put off” if the country is to refocus its economy - an economy based on savings and investment with a new emphasis on manufacturing, exports and trade.
The PM said:
Not long ago we were heading towards the danger zone where markets start to question your credibility.
Yet in the past eight months we’ve seen our credit rating - which was on the brink of being downgraded - affirmed at the triple A level.
We’ve seen market interest rates - which were in danger of spiralling - actually fall. All this has happened not in spite of our plan to cut the deficit, but because of it. That’s why we must stick to the course we have set out.
Mr Cameron added that there was a need to prioritise growth and “unleash enterprise”, and that the UK was taking measures to achieve this such as cutting corporation tax and small business rates. Large UK trade delegations were sending out the message that “Britain is back and open for business”, he said.
The PM also stressed the importance of innovation and of the need for the EU to pursue an aggressive trade policy. Referring to ongoing talks in the Doha round of trade negotiations, Mr Cameron said that 2011 would be a “make or break year” and that all sides needed to put “more on the table”.
Concluding his speech, Mr Cameron said:
My message today is one of confidence. We are an open, trading continent. We have a proud record of invention. We’ve got advanced democratic values. But yes, we’ve got to recognise that Europe has got to earn its way. The world doesn’t owe us a living.
So let’s make the choice to do things differently, to fight for our prosperity. If we set our sights high if we take bold decisions in deregulation, on opening up the single market, on innovation and on trade then together we can defy the pessimists and together, recover our dynamism.
Speeches and Transcripts: Prime Minister’s speech at the World Economic Forum