Why Labour?

In today’s European Union, Britain is a strong voice acting for the best interests of its citizens. Our economic success over the last ten years, our place in other major international institutions and our strong support for enlargement means that we continue to be well placed to lead the debate in Europe.

Our membership of the European Union is essential for Britain’s prosperity and security and for tackling global issues to ensure a fairer world for all. Now with 27 member states, the EU is the largest single market and British-based businesses are taking full advantage of being part of it. More than half of all our trade is with the rest of Europe and millions of jobs are dependent on it. We want to move on from institutional debate to work within a streamlined EU on the issues that really matter, such as immigration and climate change.

Key achievements

• Signed the Social Chapter and introduced measures including: four weeks’ paid holiday; a right to parental leave; extended maternity leave; a new right to request flexible working; and the same protection for part-time workers as full-time workers
• A better deal for British consumers, including halving the cost of domestic phone calls and air travel in the EU, and proper compensation for air passengers ‘bumped’ from flights
• Strengthened minimum environmental standards across Europe. Our rivers, beaches and water are now the cleanest they have ever been
• More and better jobs through agreement of the Lisbon Agenda for economic reform – millions of new jobs have been created across Europe since 2000
• Labour helped win valuable reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to promote sustainable and environmentally friendly farming within Europe

Winning the fight for Britain's future:

• Promote economic reform to make Europe more competitive so it can compete effectively on the world stage
• Continue to work with EU partners to negotiate a framework for tackling climate change post-Kyoto and develop an EU-wide strategy for energy policy
• Press for further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to ensure farming becomes more competitive, sustainable and innovative
• Promote further enlargement of the EU, including support for the entry of Turkey and Croatia
• Work with EU partners to achieve a global trade deal to cut tariffs and liberalise world trade