THE UNITED Kingdom must build up its influence in the European Union by developing stronger alliances with smaller member states and placing top officials in the higher ranks of EU institutions, foreign secretary William Hague has said.
While emphasising the importance of ties with Paris and Berlin, Mr Hague said “it is no longer sensible or indeed possible just to focus our effort on the largest countries at the expense of smaller members”.
France and Germany remained “crucial partners”, but the UK needed to look further and wider inside the EU to exert its influence and create new approaches to foreign policy.
Mr Hague also said far greater efforts would have to be made by London to develop relations with emerging states in Asia, Latin America and elsewhere.
“Economic power and economic opportunity are shifting to the countries of the East and South; to the emerging powers of Brazil, India, China and other parts of Asia and to increasingly significant economies such as Turkey and Indonesia.
“It is estimated that by 2050 emerging economies will be up to 50 per cent larger than those of the current G7, including of course the United Kingdom. Yet the latest figures show that at the moment we export more to Ireland than we do to India, China and Russia put together,” he said.
The views of the new emerging powers were critical to efforts to tackle global economic reform, nuclear proliferation, climate change and energy security: “But they do not always agree with our approach to these problems when they arise in the UN and elsewhere, making it all the more necessary that our diplomacy is energetic and robust,” he went on.
Too often, he said, the UK’s approach to building relationships inside and outside the EU “has been rather ad hoc and patchy, giving rise to the frequent complaint from such governments that British ministers only get in touch when a crisis arises or a crucial vote is needed”.
“This weakens our ability to forge agreement on difficult issues affecting the lives of millions around the world and it overlooks the importance of consistency and personal relationships in the conduct of foreign policy.” In many countries politics and economics were inextricably linked, which meant that the absence of strong ties hurt British industries when contracts were being awarded.
Criticising the last Labour government’s handling of EU relations, Mr Hague said it was “mystifying” to the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition why it “failed to give due weight to the development of British influence in the EU”.
“They neglected to ensure that sufficient numbers of bright British officials entered EU institutions, and so we are now facing a generation gap developing in the British presence in parts of the EU where early decisions and early drafting take place,” he said.
The number of top British officials in the European Commission had fallen by a third since 2007, while the total number of British serving in the institution had dropped by 205.