Jim Murphy

Getting on with business

The EU has been busy getting on with business - today the EU-Russia Summit in Mafra, Portugal, will be an opportunity for dialogue with a key strategic partner for the EU. Relations with Russia are central to achieving some of our key priorities for EU action. On climate change and energy security, or on promoting security and stability in our wider neighbourhood, we have to make sure that Russia is engaged. And we can achieve this far more effectively when we speak together through the EU.

From providing emergency aid in the wake of humanitarian disasters, to supporting peaceful elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the EU can and does play a significant and positive role on the world stage helping us to deliver our UK foreign policy priorities.

I've had the opportunity to hear views recently from many different constituencies - from Parliament, from the public through this blog and the No10 webchat yesterday, from speaking to the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. This is the real debate on Europe that we should be having.

Posted at 16:12 26 October 2007 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[4]

Time to move on

With a successful conclusion to the Lisbon European Council, we're a step closer to being able to put years of institutional wrangling in the EU behind us.

As the Prime Minister said after the Council, it is time for the EU to look to new priorities, to move away from the inward-looking debate of the past, to addressing the wider challenges of globalisation.

You can read more in the new pamphlet, Global Europe , published on Monday.

Have a look at the pamphlet and let me know what you think.

I'll be taking part in a webchat on the No.10 website tomorrow, at 16:45 BST. If you'd like to share your views on the EU's future direction, or if you have any questions on current issues, I'd be very pleased to hear from you.

Posted at 11:52 24 October 2007 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[10]

General Affairs and External Relations Council, and the Informal European Council

The Foreign Secretary and I represented the UK in Monday's meeting of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg. This is the regular meeting of all EU Foreign Ministers (and Ministers for Europe) at which we discuss current foreign policy issues. The aim is to agree EU positions on the major foreign policy issues, as joint EU action can be much more effective than 27 countries acting independently (although if we cannot agree we can still go our own way, as every country has a veto). It was a busy and productive meeting, with useful debate and decisions on a number of issues, including Burma, Iraq and Zimbabwe.

On Iraq, there was strong support from EU Foreign Ministers for the ideas which we've put forward with France and Sweden for developing the EU's role. It's clear that our EU partners share our determination to assist the UN Mission in Iraq deliver on its mandate and to develop deeper political and economic ties with Iraq. The EU is already actively involved in the UN's work to assist the Iraqi government and supports regional dialogue: it will be pursuing this further over the coming months.

The Council approved a package of sanctions against Burma, including targeted restrictive measures on imports and exports. These will increase direct pressure on those responsible for the recent appalling crack-downs. On Zimbabwe, we discussed sending an EU envoy to report on the situation on the ground ahead of the EU-Africa summit in December.

We also discussed the EU Reform Treaty for around an hour - the Portuguese Presidency of the EU wanted it to be a "stocktake", leaving the detailed discussion for the meeting in Lisbon later in the week. On Thursday, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary will go to Lisbon to take part in a European Council meeting, where the Portuguese Presidency will lead a discussion on the EU Reform Treaty amongst Heads of State and Foreign Ministers from all 27 EU member states. The PM has been clear all along: our red lines must be fully respected in the final treaty text.

In gaps between Council sessions I met the Danish Foreign Minister and Swedish and Luxembourg Europe Ministers. Each EU country has their own perspective on how things should be done, and I would not pretend that everyone is happy with the tough negotiating stance that we have pursued. But there was no suggestion that anyone would try to unpick the good deal we have achieved. So going into the meeting on Thursday and Friday in Lisbon David Miliband and I are confident our red lines will be respected.

Posted at 20:00 17 October 2007 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[3]

On the road to Luxembourg

A busy day today began with an interview on Sky News, rightly delayed so Sky could cover Brian Ashton's press conference in Paris.  I listened with great interest to what he had to say - he brings a common sense approach to managing the England rugby team that is a real contrast to many others involved in sport.  It's an approach Steve McClaren and Alex McLeish also bring to their management of the England and Scotland football teams, and I hope it catches on with others in sport.

Amidst all the coverage of the rugby, some of today's papers refer to a letter sent yesterday from David Cameron to the Prime Minister about the EU Reform Treaty.  I'm not going to get into the party politics of it here, but you might be interested in the detail of one or two of the points being made. 

It is not just the Government in this country stating that "the constitutional concept has been abandoned".  This is a quote from the the Mandate for the Treaty, agreed by all 27 EU member states in June (the full version is: "The constitutional concept, which consisted in repealing all existing Treaties and replacing them by a single text called "Constitution" is abandoned"). 

All of our European partners are clear about this - it was, after all, the French and Dutch people who made it plain that they didn't want a Constitution.  The President of the European Commission has made this crystal clear.  And one of the authors of the old Constitutional Treaty, Giuliano Amato (now Italian Interior Minister) has said: "In the debate about the European Constitutional Treaty, we were talking about a Treaty which would repeal all the existing main treaties; that would have been a new Constitution, a new start.  However, what was agreed in Brussels at the European Council was not that, it was a cluster of amendments to the existing Treaty.  That is a crucial difference." (He also said: "if someone in the UK is calling for a referendum, that is not because the text we have in front of us is a Constitution, it must be for some other reason and I for one would not support it").

There's also been much talk about the UK's 'red lines'.  As a Government we are certain that they protect our sovereignty in crucial areas and give us a good, UK-specific deal.  All of our 26 EU partners know that we are determined to achieve our red lines.  I wouldn't pretend that those who want to see a federal Europe are pleased that we are being so tough in the negotiations and so insistent on getting a UK-specific deal.  Nothing in the Treaty affects our ability to run our own foreign policy - where we agree with other EU member states we will act together, but where we don't we can act alone.  There have been suggestions that the European Court of Justice might chip away at our 'red line' on the Charter of Fundamental Rights.  But our Protocol on the Charter is legally binding, in the Treaty, and has the same legal force as the Treaty.

What has so far been lost in the debate is that this Treaty gives us what we want - slimmed down and more effective European institutions that can act faster and deliver more for British and other European citizens. 

If you are interested in this and want to know more, the Foreign Secretary is appearing before the European Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday.  You can watch the session on Parliamentary TV or look at a transcript afterwards on www.parliament.uk (you can see a record of my evidence to the committee from 2 October at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmeuleg/uc1015-i/uc101502.htm) 

My day continues with a radio interview for the BBC.  After that I am travelling to Luxembourg for a meeting of European Foreign Ministers (and Europe Ministers).  We'll be discussing issues like Burma, Zimbabwe and the Middle East Peace Process.  The Foreign Secretary or I will let you know how it goes.

Posted at 13:17 14 October 2007 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[8]

Moving away from the constitutional approach

In the press this week, I read the claim that the UK Government has accepted that the Reform Treaty is the same as the old Constitutional Treaty. We don’t, because it isn’t.

All countries of the European Union have agreed that the Constitution has been abandoned. My own view is that Europe will not now in my lifetime have a constitution.

All EU countries have declared that the constitutional approach has been abandoned. Everyone has moved away from the constitution but the UK has moved away more than any other country.

I recently met the President of the European Parliament, Hans Gert Poettering. He is a real friend of the UK and a conservative politician. He observed that because of the deal that the UK has secured, much of the substance of the Reform Treaty simply won't apply in Britain. As he wrote in a letter to the Telegraph in July, "compared to the draft Constitution, the Reform Treaty involves a de facto British opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as a much wider British exemption in Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) than previously conceded."

Getting Europe back to work

Coming back to the question that I posed in my last post - how do we get Europe back to work? - I was pleased to note that the European Commission's Review of Small and Medium Enterprise policy, published last week, recognised the importance of SMEs as a driver of employment growth in Europe. There are around 23 million SMEs across the EU, accounting for around 75 million jobs. In some sectors, they account for as much as 80% of all jobs.

It's crucial that governments across the EU support a strong enterprise culture, and an environment in which new businesses can flourish. This is an area where effective EU action can build on the work of national governments, through cutting red tape, improving access to markets and supporting investment in innovation and research.

I was also interested to see a recent Eurobarometer poll report positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship amongst young people across Europe, particularly in the new member states. Fostering creativity and potential in young people is more important than ever in ensuring we can meet the new challenges in a globalised economy.

Healthcare in France

Several of you have raised the issue of changes in eligibility for health care services in France, which will affect early retirees to France from other European countries, including the UK. I appreciate that this is a matter of urgent concern for many people.

The Department of Health in the UK and the British Embassy in Paris are in contact with the French authorities on this issue, and we will seek further clarification of what the implications will be for UK nationals. I understand that the French government has now decided that for those people already living in France the proposed changes to healthcare eligibility will not take effect until 31 March 2008.

You can find out more by visiting the British Embassy website or by getting in touch with the Department for Work and Pensions Overseas Health Benefits Helpline on +44 191 218 1999.

Posted at 14:57 11 October 2007 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[51]

Answering to Parliament

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to post comments so far.

When I said that I wanted a lively public debate on the EU, I was prepared for some challenging arguments from you in reply - and there have been plenty of comments posted on the various blogs on this site.

I appreciate that people have strong opinions on this issue.  I do too.  I believe that Parliament is the right place to debate the Reform Treaty.

This is how previous European Treaties have been handled.  No Government, neither Conservative nor Labour, has ever held a referendum on an amending Treaty.  I would argue that both the Single European Act and Maastricht Treaty were more significant for the UK than the Reform Treaty. But they were not decided by a referendum, but rather by MPs and Peers in the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The Reform Treaty is not the Constitutional Treaty - it does not rip up the existing Treaties and replace them.  And we have negotiated safeguards that mean significant parts of it do not apply to the UK (for example, we can pick and choose across the board whether to take part in justice and policing co-operation). There will be no transfer of power away from the UK on issues of fundamental importance to our sovereignty. 

What the Treaty does do is make sensible changes to help make an EU of 27 Member States work better. This will mean the EU can move on and concentrate its efforts on the issues that matter most, such as protecting the environment, fighting crime and creating jobs. 

Did you know that there are currently 92 million people in the EU who are economically inactive - that’s more than the populations of Scandinavia and the 10 newest Member States. It’s in the UK’s interest that Europe is at work. It’s good for our economy and British business. What do you think we can do about this with Europe?

Posted at 18:24 08 October 2007 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[5]