British Interests Will Be Protected - Gordon Brown

British interests will be protected - Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown has insisted that British interests will be safeguarded when EU leaders meet in Lisbon next week.

Speaking at a joint press conference with EU President Jose Manuel Barroso, the Prime Minister said that the UK had succeeded in having its "red-lines" written into the text of the EU amending treaty.

Opt-outs and vetoes relating to matters such as national security, foreign policy and social security payments would be present "in the detail" of the document to be considered at the EU Summit on 18 October, he said.

"We want to make progress with reform of the EU in a way that does not affect fundamental constitutional issues... that is why we want to achieve our red lines. When people look at the detail of what we've negotiated they will see UK national interest protected while at the same time the work of the EU, with 27 members, can proceed."

Responding to journalists, President Barroso said he had "great confidence" that the UK's negotiated objectives would be met in the treaty and that it was time to "put the institutional debate behind us". The EU should now focus on being more competitive, leading on climate change and shaping globalisation, he said.

Press conference with the President of the European Union

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you very much for joining us again today. I have the greatest of privilege to welcome to Downing Street President Barroso and to talk to him about some of the central concerns both this week and of course next week when we have the European Council meeting.

We have talked about the European economy in the light of the financial turbulence of recent months and about the measures that we can take together to improve the functioning of the global economy.

We have talked about the trade talks that we want to see resumed in the most positive way to get a result this year so that we have a world trade agreement.

We have been able to discuss the situation in Burma and the situation in Zimbabwe and I have told President Barroso that we are pressing for investment sanctions against the Burmese regime so that the full horror and the atrocities of what has happened in Burma is made known to the population of the world and we show that we are determined to take action. I made it clear that we are condemning what is happening at the moment in Zimbabwe and we will not attend the African Union-EU Summit, when these issues were raised.

And we have also talked about climate change and the progress we can make in the run-up to the Bali Summit where I applaud President Barroso for his leadership on matters of environmental change and reform and the bold programme that he has set out for the future of the European Union in dealing with climate change.

The final issue that we have talked about is the Reform Treaty and I have made it clear, as I have made clear on so many occasions here, that we have to achieve in detail the red lines that we set out, in other words we must have the safeguards in the protocol on the charter, in the opt-in on justice and home affairs, we must be absolutely sure that we have the emergency break in veto powers in relation to social security, and of course be satisfied, as we have been, that national security is outside the scope of the amending treaty. If of course we did not achieve our red lines we would not be able to accept the amending treaty and I think that is well known to people right across Europe. But we want to make progress with the reform of the European Union in a way that does not affect the fundamental constitutional issues and that is why we want to achieve our red lines.

So we have had a very useful discussion. President Barroso is also speaking and giving a major speech here in the evening. He is here tomorrow to meet the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and I am delighted to ask him to speak now.

President Barroso:

Thank you very much Prime Minister. It was a pleasure to meet you and to speak about the most important issues in the European and global agenda, and I say the European and global agenda because in fact we need to work more actively for Europe to shape globalisation. This is the agenda of my Commission, this is the agenda of the European Commission. How can we prepare Europe to shape globalisation, to be more competitive? How can we move from the reform treaty to economic reform? How can we reform Europe to be more competitive and for Europe to be leading in the world, namely against climate change, in terms of energy security, in terms of fighting international terrorism? This is the issue and that is why we need to solve the reform treaty, we need to put this institutional debate behind us, we cannot spend all our time discussing institutions.

I think now we have a very good basis, we are well aware of course of the specific concerns of Britain, Britain has negotiated hard to get some opt-outs. I fully respect those opt-outs. We have to now close this issue so that we can move for the issues that I believe are the most pressing ones for the European citizens, to have a Europe of results, to make the most of these dimensions, that we have now 27 countries, almost 500 million people, we can lead in the world because we are experts in globalisation. Europe is a great success in terms of pulling together, pulling the capabilities of such different member states, so if we get things right we can move forward. I believe it is your first priority, it is also my priority, is economic reform, a global Europe, a Europe that delivers concrete benefits to the citizens.

Those were the most important issues that we have discussed. Of course I will not repeat what the Prime Minister has just said about the issues regarding trade. We have been working very closely with Britain to try to achieve a solution for the donor round, we believe it is very important for the global economy. We have been also working on other issues. I welcome what Prime Minister Brown just said about Burma. We have to have a tougher stance on Burma. We are also supporting everything that we can do in terms of smart sanctions, sanctions that punish the regime but not the people of Burma. And I understand also of course the specific positions of Prime Minister Brown regarding Zimbabwe. We in the European Union believe it is important to have a summit with Africa, it is not because of one individual that we should avoid that summit, and it is indeed a great occasion to make it clear to all African leaders what we think about good governance and about respect for human rights.

So those were the most important issues that we have touched. Once again thank you very much Prime Minister for the very interesting conversation and also I am looking forward to what can be a very successful summit next week in Lisbon so that we can move forward our agenda, an agenda that to a large extent I think I will say we - the European Commission and Britain - share for a more modern reformed Europe that is embracing and if possible shaping the world of the 21st century.

Question:

Prime Minister I understand that a detailed text is more or less agreed. Are you confident therefore that your red lines have been met and is a referendum therefore off the agenda in your view? And may I also ask the President, are you confident that Britain's red lines have been agreed in detail?

Prime Minister:

Well I have got to be absolutely sure that the British national interest has been safeguarded and that it is protected in every one of the issues that we have raised. When we look at the detail of the text and study it, I believe that we have succeeded in our negotiating objectives. These will obviously be a matter for the discussions at the Council next week. If we were to go beyond the red lines, in other words we weren't to achieve our red lines, we could not accept the amending treaty. I make that absolutely clear. If we achieve our red lines and they are achieved in detail in the treaty as it is to be published then we will be prepared to accept it, and that is absolutely consistent with the position that I have taken ever since the Brussels negotiations a few months ago.

Question:

Sorry, just to clarify that, so if you do accept it there wouldn't be a referendum?

Prime Minister:

If we accepted the amending treaty, in other words all those matters on which we have said the British national interests requires us to have either a protocol, or an opt-in, or an emergency break, or in one circumstance the right of veto, then we would not need to put forward to the British people the idea that there should be a referendum because we have achieved the British national interest and the amending treaty does not mean fundamental constitutional change for the British people.

President Barroso:

Of course this is a decision for the Heads of State and government to make in next week's meeting in Lisbon, but from negotiating so far I have every reason to believe that the opt-outs that were so hard fought for by Britain are going to be kept in the text. The text in fact so far as it is now respects fully the opt-outs and the specific points that were raised by Britain during this let's say intense negotiation. And what I can say is everything I have been saying for a long time, now we need to have this matter settled and move forward, not only to discuss the reform treaty but to discuss the reform of Europe and what we can do for the global world.

Question:

Prime Minister could you be absolutely clear, so if you don't meet the red lines you will veto the treaty, it is not possible to conceive of a situation in which you would sign up to it and then put it to a referendum? And President Barroso can I ask you in your speech tonight we are expecting you to talk about the UK's heart and minds being close to Europe, do you feel that vetoes and opt-outs, send out the wrong message to other member states?

Prime Minister:

Well let me be absolutely clear, we have achieved a protocol on the issue of the Charter of Rights which protects the British interests. We have achieved, we believe, on justice and home affairs the opt-in that was necessary for the British national interest. We have achieved an emergency break and a veto in relation to social security that protects the British national interest. National security is outside the scope of the amending treaty so the British national interest in that respect has been safeguarded. So in all these areas we have acted to protect the British national interest. Now I am a cautious man and I will wait until we see the discussion that takes place in the Council next week before I make a final judgment on this, but if we are to achieve our red lines and to achieve them in the detail, which is the protection of the British national interest, that we need, then we would not need to veto the treaty, we would not need to come back and say that the treaty was unacceptable, we would say that we had achieved our negotiating objectives.

President Barroso:

Of course it is not to me, it is up to the British people and the British institutions to define what is their national interest. What I can say is that our agenda, the agenda of this Commission and the agenda of the European Union of today, not the European Union of the past maybe but today, it is very much the British agenda for an open economy, for a reform economy, for a more competitive Europe, for a global Europe. And what I will say in my speech at Oxford today, as you already know, is that I think it is impossible, and I cannot believe that Britain can be open to the world and closed to Europe. For me it is obvious, if you want to be open to the world we have to be at the same time not closed to Europe, and this is the message that I will convey because we really need, we really need British engagement in this European Union and today it is absolutely indispensable because if you want to take along those big challenges of globalisation, we cannot do it alone, we can I believe do it with the member states, but we have much more leverage globally to speak with our American friends or to speak with partners like China, or India, or Russia if we do it using the leverage of this internal market. It is so far the most important integrated market in the world in terms of economic dimension.

Question:

A question to Mr Barroso first of all. I just wondered how you would feel on a personal level sitting around a table with Robert Mugabe at the EU-AU Summit in December and whether you would prefer the Prime Minister to be there in person to deliver a message? And a question for the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister:

Inaudible.

Question:

Well this one is about the treaty, we have heard a lot about opt-ins and protocols and so on, could I just invite you to give a couple of good reasons why Britain has signed up to this treaty?

President Barroso:

The first question, look I was Foreign Minister, Prime Minister in my country and let me tell you that very often we have to sit in many international meetings with people that my mother would not like me to sit with. That happened to me very often in my life and I am afraid it will happen more in the future. But one thing I can tell you, I don't know who is coming or not to that summit, but one thing I can tell you, on that occasion I will make clear what is our position about human rights, the need to respect human rights, the need to respect freedom of expression in Africa and all over in the world. That is my position and I will not miss the opportunity to do it. I am sure that the member states also will not miss that opportunity.

Prime Minister:

We have moved from a European Union originally, of course a Common Market of a small number of countries to now 27 countries in the Union itself. It is therefore necessary to make some institutional changes to make that Union work better, and that is the purpose of the amending treaty. The test for us is of course that the British national interest is protected and safeguarded in what is happening and it is because of that that we have insisted that where it is necessary we have the protocol, the opt-in or the emergency break, and I believe that when people look at the detail of what we have negotiated over these summer and autumn months and then see what we can achieve next week at the Council, then we will see that the British national interest is being protected while at the same time the work of the European Union with 27 members, a far larger organisation than ever before, can proceed.

Question:

We had a report this week from various MPs concluding that the old constitution and the treaty were substantially the same, so isn't it in effect a con trick on voters in this country and right across Europe to say that the old constitution is different from the treaty? And Prime Minister can I ask you a domestic political point? After your performance at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, do you feel you need to up your game?

President Barroso:

Look, immediately after the No votes in France and the Netherlands to the constitution, as you know it was refused because the constitution was refused in France and the Netherlands. Immediately after I said there will not be a constitution, and then our work started. I said it in 2005, not now, I am not saying this now just because I am in Britain. In 2005 immediately after the No votes I said there will be no constitution. And so after then we started working on another treaty that is an amending treaty to the current treaty. Please read the treaty. It is not a constitution. I have been a constitutional lawyer teaching in Geneva and Washington, this is not a constitution, this is another treaty, and by the way a treaty, even as a treaty where Britain negotiated very, very clear opt-outs that of course we are going to see, but I have every reason to believe that they will be kept during the negotiation next week. So this is not indeed the constitution, it is an amending treaty to the current treaties and an amending treaty to which Britain has secured some opt-outs, and this is my honest opinion and an opinion I am giving all over Europe, not just in Britain, but it is a treaty that brings the more effective work of the institutions, more democratic accountability, yes and hopefully also more ... when acting globally. And we need it for practical reasons, that is why we need this treaty, it is not that we are obsessing with institutions, it is because we need the institutions ready to address other I believe more important issues.

Prime Minister:

In the interests of accuracy perhaps I should also say that that committee report made a distinction between the treaty itself and those countries which had succeeded in having opt-ins or opt-outs, protocols or exemptions. And I think I can draw attention in each of the areas where we have had difficulties in negotiation that we are achieving our negotiating objectives in securing the protocols, the opt-ins and the emergency breaks. And the committee asks us to reassure them on certain points and I think when the committee has the detail of what we have been negotiating in some of these areas over the summer, and when they see the conclusions of the Council, I believe we will be able to reassure many of them that we have achieved the negotiating objectives that protect the national interests. And you know at the end of the day - to answer your second question - what people want us to do is to get on with the job and I will be judged by how our economy performs, by how we can improve our health and public services and how we can show that we can protect the national interest in everything that we do.

ENDS

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