Gary Titley MEP's Speech to the 2005 Labour Party Conference
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"Conference,
Politics is a rollercoaster ride. This time last year we celebrated 10 new countries joining the European Union, uniting a divided continent.
But as we rolled on into this year, the French and Dutch voters put the brakes on.
Not to end the ride as the xenophobes would want you to believe, but a sensible, timely reminder that concrete European delivery must come before constitutions and procedures.
Tony Blair was right in June when he said that the voters are the wisest of us all.
They voted for a re-think on Europe for a greater vision:
So the gauntlet has been laid down and we, the Labour party must seize it. The European Union has the capacity to deliver everything our movement holds dear - investment in regions, jobs, security, health and safety, a cleaner environment, safer roads.
Europe has forged the development agenda. Working hand in hand with our government which has delivered promises for Africa this year that 10, 20 years ago we could have only dreamed of.
And all this is done in the spirit of internationalism which is at the heart of Labour party values.
We need to tackle the myth that Europe is removed from people's lives. Every day Europe takes measures that improve the lives of citizens from Bolton to Berlin, Tallinn to Thessalonica, and maybe looking to the future, Macedonia to Moldova.
Just this year, Labour MEPs have:
We have even risen to the challenge of explaining to bemused continental colleagues why Britain went bananas over a few ashes!
And while we have been negotiating in parliament, securing results for our regions - what of the so-called opposition?
Robert Kilroy-Silk came, saw and disappeared. Tory MEP Roger Helmer's behaviour got so bizarre; he was thrown out of his party in the Parliament. Now they are thinking of letting him back in.
That's typical of Tory European policy, in, out, shake it all about. Kenneth Clarke is no different - he is bidding for the leadership by swapping his hush puppies for flip-flops over Europe.
The Liberals vote against any measure to protect workers - they even oppose giving workers advice on how to avoid skin cancer. Their Leader in the European parliament called for the end of the British budget rebate until Charlie Kennedy slapped him down.
From Brussels to Westminster, they peddle a different story; different policies- just like they do from one end of your street to the other. Same old liberals, same old flannel.
And while they flounder, our government shifts the focus of Europe to the UK as they manage the Presidency of the European Council.
What a start it had when Tony Blair wowed a sceptical European Parliament in June and triggered an intense debate about the future direction of Europe.
Labour ministers are impressing MEPs from all over Europe with their mastery of the issues, their leadership of the debate and their enthusiasm to work with the European Parliament.
But the start of our Presidency was scarred by terrorism. The London bombings horrified the European parliament just as the Madrid attack had done.
The messages of solidarity that flooded in from colleagues that morning reminded me why I believe in Europe. Our problems do not stop at national borders.
We face common threats and challenges that we can only deal with through mutual co-operation and solidarity.
That is why the government's agenda to strengthen Europe as an area of justice, freedom and security is now more important than ever.
We saw last week that the use of the new European arrest warrant allowed us to extradite a terrorist suspect from Italy in a matter of weeks rather than the months, even years that it used to take - practical European cooperation making us all safer.
The EU has created the largest single market in the world - a single market that has benefited its citizens by 6,000 euros a head in increased output.
It has stabilised a continent and peacefully brought the countries of the former communist bloc into its democratic family.
It has benefited consumers and improved the environment.
The trouble is that our citizens take all that for granted - it's all old hat.
We need a new vision of Europe based on concrete delivery - not process. A vision based on key principles.
Firstly, we have to reassert that we cannot rise to the challenge of globalisation unless we have strong international partnerships and especially, the most successful partnership of them all, the European Union. We have to stop frightening ourselves with nightmares of a federal super state.
The EU is a unique system of multi-layered governance where success rests on supranational institutions which complement and supplement national sovereignty, not replaces it.
Secondly, we must deliver jobs for our citizens and economic security for their families.
To achieve that economic strength, we must have social justice. Social Europe is not a bolt on luxury. It is essential for a dynamic economy. A strong economy rests on the talents of all its people. The more people are excluded from economic opportunity the weaker the economy will be.
That is why it is a disgrace that one third of the working age population in Europe is economically inactive.
The employment rate for prime age male workers is pretty much the same in Britain, Germany, France and Italy but it is the UK's Labour market that offers greater job opportunities for the young, women, the unskilled and older people.
Yet when it comes to education and training the Scandinavians have us all beat.
We have a lot to learn from each other.
The Social model that we should be aspiring to is one that stimulates employment, helps people into work, helps them adapt to changing patterns of work, supports them in work and gives real assistance to those who cannot work.
Europe also has to be an open society where people are free to travel to find work, to contribute to our society and to provide prosperity for their families.
Such an open society has to be fair and just. It should never be a free ride for criminals and terrorists.
Finally Europe has to be outward looking - fighting for fair rules on trade, working with the developing world and building global security.
That was a vision that inspired our great friend Robin Cook before his untimely and deeply saddening death.
Robin was always looking to the future - anticipating and preparing for the great changes that challenge us: ensuring that social justice is at the heart of our journey into a global world.
As President of the European Socialists he was a leading force in this debate.
That is also the vision of Europe which Tony Blair mapped out when he addressed the European Parliament in June and started a debate on the future of Europe.
The Labour party must lead that debate because that vision is our vision - jobs, social justice, tolerance, fairness, solidarity and internationalism.
We must lead the debate because the alternative is the right wing view that we are all helpless in the face of global market forces and only the strong will survive.
We must lead the debate because as Robin Cook often said, it is ideas that motivate and engage the public not political processes.
Europe is our chance to consolidate democracy, bring stability and prosperity to people all over Europe, build global security, and deepen solidarity with the developing world.
Conference, I urge you to return home and debate a new vision of Europe in your towns and cities. This is our chance to shape the Europe that we want for the future."
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