Transcript of my opinion column in The Times, April 22,
2013, regarding Business for Britain,
and the need to re-negotiate our relationship with the EU.
Over the last few years the
British people have become increasingly sceptical about the European Union. A
clear majority no longer think that British taxpayers, farmers, small
businesses or consumers are getting a good deal from Brussels.
The kneejerk response of many
defenders of the existing configuration of the EU is to insist that the EU is
good for British business and that any big changes to Britain’s
relationship with Brussels will hurt our economic
interests. I’m reminded of the late 1990s when many big business voices -
although that didn't include me - poured scorn on the public’s worries about
the Euro. We now know that the people were right and it took the hugely
successful Business for Sterling campaign to confront groups like the CBI and
make the case against UK membership of what has
become the disastrous single currency project.
It’s
time for British businesses to organise again and make it clear that while some
business leaders are always ready to defend the EU, many of us are increasingly
concerned about its direction. 500 business figures have today signed up to the
Business for Britain campaign to support a renegotiation of our EU relationship
and get a better deal for the people who create this nation’s jobs and wealth.
I’m
one of those signatories. I've run businesses in this country for 30 years, one
of which became the world's biggest privately-owned mobile telecoms business
employing thousands of people, and giving me the dubious honour of becoming
quite possibly Britain's biggest personal tax payer.
Many
people were hopeful that the EU’s single market would bring big benefits to
Britain, but while it might once have been the case that being part of the
Single Market was of net benefit, the costs and overregulation from Brussels
now threaten to significantly outweigh any of those benefits.
Start-up
SMEs, many of whom undertake no international activity, still have to comply
with the red tape that Brussels has designed
for cross-border trade. That makes no sense. Some economic regulation is
necessary to facilitate fair competition, but Brussels often seems to
regulate for regulation’s sake. Its tendency towards a one-size-fits-all
approach is making it harder for European businesses to compete with the
world’s more lightly-regulated emerging economies.
Other
problems loom, too.
The
Financial Transaction Tax is a key example of Brussels’
detrimental thinking. If forced through with just eleven Member States'
support, it risks damaging the competitiveness of the entire Single Market.
The
City of London Corporation estimates the
tax would add nearly £4 billion to the cost of issuing UK debt
- the last thing our economy needs as it rebuilds. London is still the
financial centre of the world and we need to do everything to maintain and
promote that status.
Other
businesses in other parts of Europe share many of the concerns
of British business. They worry about the EU’s declining share of world trade
and the EU’s contribution to that decline. If Britain presents sensible
reforms to the economic architecture of the EU, many businesses in Germany, Spain, Poland and
across the continent will encourage their governments to take those suggestions
seriously.
We
know that an opportunity for change is certainly coming. The EU will need to
alter its Treaties to deal with the challenges posed by the still grave
Eurozone crisis. As EU leaders think about fiscal union and other Treaty
changes - possibly taking big steps towards federalism - we should be debating
the kind of relationship we want to have with the EU. It's not about being in
or out; business wants a more balanced relationship - and getting that balance
right is vital for this nation’s competitiveness.
Business
wants to see Brussels recognise that
a diversity of economies requires far more flexibility than is currently
provided for. If the EU is to thrive, with Britain in
it, it needs to adapt. Tweaking reforms and paying lip-service to change have
failed to address Europe’s
economic woes and democratic deficit. The EU would benefit from showing it is
open to decentralisation and deregulation in the areas where it would boost
competitiveness. ]The ‘European project’ is always changing and evolving. In
this fiercely competitive age it needs to change again. An end to a
one-size-fits-all model of regulation is central to the change that is
necessary. Business for Britain will
be at the Prime Minister’s elbow, encouraging him to be bold in his demands for
a more competitive EU. If he delivers it won’t just be Britain that
will prosper. The European mainland’s record number of unemployed people will
benefit, too.
John
Caudwell, Entrepreneur and philanthropist.
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