November 23, 2001
Blair Seeks Integration With Europe
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP)
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Britain must "adjust to the facts" and accept that its future lies in Europe.
Blair Set to Come Out Strongly for British Integration With Europe (November 23, 2001)
London Journal: A Surprise for Blair: There's Life in the Lords Yet (November 23, 2001)
Filed at 2:14 p.m. ET
LONDON (AP) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair urged his nation to embrace Europe, but the markets concluded Friday that the government hadn't moved closer to a decision to join the European Union's common currency.
In anticipation of his speech, the pound sank to a four-month low of $1.4043 early Friday, perhaps taking a cue from the front-page headline in the Financial Times: ``Blair to deliver strongest signal on euro.''
After the speech, however, the market concluded there was no change in the government's noncommittal position, and the pound bounced back to $1.4126.
``There is absolutely nothing new in today's speech, which may be a bit of a relief,'' said Audrey Childe-Freeman, chief economist at CIBC World Markets.
The government has said it is inclined to join the single currency if and when it is Britain's interest to do it.
Others, however, thought they heard a pro-euro message in Blair's speech to the European Research Institute in Birmingham, where he said Britain had been damaged by its ``history of missed opportunities.''
Those missed chances, Blair said, went all the way back to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in the 1950s.
``The tragedy for British politics -- for Britain -- has been that politicians of both parties have consistently failed, not just in the 1950s but on up to the present day, to appreciate the emerging reality of European integration,'' Blair said.
John Edmonds, general secretary of the 700,000-member GMB union, called it a ``positive statement'' in support of a single European currency that ``clearly shows that it is a matter of when and not if.''
Anand Menon, director of the European Research Institute, said Blair's speech laid the groundwork for Britain's entry to the euro by ``taking on some of the completely unfounded europhobic views that are still prevalent in this country.''
But Liberal Democrat lawmaker Matthew Taylor accused the government of killing jobs by holding back on the euro decision, which would be put to a national referendum.
``Blair needs to stop making speeches and start getting to grips with his Cabinet colleagues. He must show a firm lead on the single currency and set a date for a referendum,'' Taylor said.
The markets and the press pay close attention to every statement on the euro made by Blair and Treasury chief Gordon Brown. Both have repeatedly affirmed a policy that Britain would join the euro if it met several criteria, but subtle differences of emphasis have encouraged a belief that Brown is less enthusiastic about the euro than Blair.
Opinion polls have shown heavy opposition to the euro, though analysts say large sections of the British public probably have not thought deeply about the single currency issue and could be persuaded to vote for it.
The opposition Conservative Party got no electoral boost from its ``save the pound'' theme in the June national election, which Blair's Labor Party swept in a second landslide.
An NOP poll released Friday said 65 percent of those asked believe being part of Europe promotes Britain's economic stability, and 58 percent said Europe had a role in providing Britain with currency stability.
Seventy-two percent support European co-operation on defense and 81 percent favor a joint European approach to tackling terrorism.
NOP questioned 1,000 people Nov. 9-11. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.
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Blair's speech,
http://www.number-10.gov.uk[ 11-23-2001: Message edited by: Professor Fate ]
