OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EU NEEDS TO BE RE-NEGOTIATED.

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.

More links:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article3745353.ece (subscription required).
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/500-business-leaders-call-for-new-deal-in-europe-8582087.html?origin=internalSearch

http://businessforbritain.org/

http://www.cityam.com/article/britain-s-business-elite-becoming-increasingly-eurosceptic

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10008978/500-business-leaders-tell-David-Cameron-to-negotiate-a-better-deal-with-Europe.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b740e8e4-aa83-11e2-bc0d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2RAzcgEnS (subscription required).