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UK must be at heart of Europe - PM
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Britain must put itself at the heart of Europe to protect jobs and support economic growth, Gordon Brown has insisted.
In thinly-veiled criticism of the Tories, the Prime Minister claimed that retreating to the European sidelines would deal a "devastating blow" to UK business.
Speaking to business leaders at the CBI conference in London, Mr Brown said he was spearheading demands for a Europe-wide economic growth strategy.
Seeking to exploit the Conservatives' hostility towards the European Union, the premier said that UK growth was entwined with that of the Continent.
"It is by putting Britain not on the fringes of Europe, but at its heart, that Britain can protect its interests within Europe, and shape the future of Europe from a position of strength that can deliver growth and jobs for the British people," he said.
"To walk away from this would be to deal a devastating blow to the future of British business - and it's my belief that we must never allow this to happen."
Appealing for UK business to be "outward-looking" in order to harness the opportunities of global change, Mr Brown said higher European growth would create thousands of new British jobs. "We must never forget that Europe accounts for 60% of our trade; more than three million British jobs depend on Europe," he warned.
"The European Union is the biggest exporter in the world and the second biggest importer. And it accounts for almost a third of the world's GDP."
The Prime Minister expressed frustration with the recent focus on the EU's "personalities", referring to the controversial appointments of the new permanent president of the European Council and high representative for foreign policy. "Europe needs to think about how we create the growth for the 10 million new jobs the continent needs," he said.
Mr Brown has been urging fellow European leaders to focus on delivering economic growth as the world begins to emerge from the recession. He said that Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez had agreed that growth and jobs would be "the priority" for his forthcoming presidency of the European Council. The Prime Minister also sought to underline the dividing line between Labour and the Tories on the fiscal stimulus.
