Member Article

EU worth £3,000 a year to UK households, say CBI

EU membership is worth £3,000 each year, to each household in the country, the CBI have suggested.

Being a part of the EU brings greater benefits than “any alternative option,” the business lobby group say, ahead of their annual conference this week.

In a report cataloging significant support from UK industry, the CBI say EU membership is worth approximately the same amount as the combined economies of the North East and Northern Ireland.

The group’s director-general, John Cridland, said the EU Single Market was “fundamental to the UK’s future.”

He added: “But the EU isn’t perfect and there is a growing unease about the creeping extension of EU authority. Europe has to become more open, competitive and outward looking if we are to grow and create opportunities and jobs for all our citizens.

“I am clear that the ever closer union of the Eurozone is not for Britain. The big reform issue is to ensure that Britain’s membership of the Single Market and the EU of the 28 does not become damaged or diluted by the Eurozone’s drive for greater integration.”

The ‘Our Global Future: the business vision for a reformed EU’ report argues that over 30 Free Trade Agreements have afforded British businesses access to markets worth $24 trillion.

If current negotiations with Japan and the US prove successful, they claim that will grow to $47 trillion.

The CBI say contrary to popular belief, the UK is influential in Brussels and this position should be used to push for substantial reform, including: a Single Market for services, a Digital Single Market and the permanent opt-out of the Working Time Directive, among other points.

Mr Cridland added: “After next year’s vital European elections the new Parliament and Commission must reverse the growing sense of Brussels ‘mission creep’.

“There should be a moratorium on regulation where there is a strong argument for decisions to be taken individually by member states and the new Commissioners will need to recognise and respect the boundaries of national parliaments, directly elected by their voters. This is especially important with employment regulation.

“The EU must be single-minded when it comes to what matters, like signing more trade deals and delivering a Single Market fit for the 21st century.

“The business vision for reform is clear, but it doesn’t just begin and end in Brussels, we also need reform in London. We have influence, but we must get better at building alliances with like-minded European partners and get more Brits in the key institutions, to make sure that influence isn’t diluted.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .