Tory MPs sent abroad to claw back powers from Brussels for Cameron in snub to ‘unambitious’ Foreign Office diplomats
Conservative MPs have been dispatched
across Europe to drum up support for David Cameron’s ambitious plan to
claw back powers from Brussels, it emerged today.
The Foreign Office has been accused of being 'unambitious' in its attempts to negotiate a new settlement with the European Union.
Tory MPs have been tasked with pushing the Prime Minister's plan, ahead of a promised in-out referendum if the Conservatives win the next election.
Trips are planned to Germany, Spain,
Poland the Czech Republic to directly negotiate with foreign governments
without the involvement of the Foreign Office.
Experts said the arrangement was ‘extraordinary’, but officials are unable to become embroiled in the Conservative plan because it is opposed by their Lib Dem coalition partners.
To get around the problem, Mr Cameron has asked the anti-EU group, the Fresh Start Project, to meet ambassadors, journalists and their counterparts in other countries to make the case for change.
Foreign Secretary William Hague and Europe minister David Lidington have also understood to have given their backing to Tory MPs engaging with their counterparts across the continent.
Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom told Bloomberg: ‘The Foreign Office are, bluntly, unambitious. I’ve had some extraordinarily frustrating conversations with officials there.
'They say things like: “You can only negotiate one or at the most two things at a time." We’re being warmly encouraged to go on with our quest.’
Ms Leadsom is due to visit Berlin this month, with other delegations going to Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic later this year. While the group has no official mandate from government, she said it is clear to those they meet that ‘we are here with Cameron’s blessing’.
On Friday Mr Cameron travelled to Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Prime Minister, wife Samantha and their three children spent the night at Schloss Meseberg, the German Chancellor’s official country retreat.
Mr Cameron and Mrs Merkel held talks about the future of Europe, with the Prime Minister making the case for more reforms.
Later Michael Meister, a leading member of Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, said Germany was ‘open for arguments’ about returning some powers.
But the Tory MPs are pushing for other EU member states to go further in the pushing the case for reform.
Chris Heaton-Harris, a Tory MP who will lead Fresh Start trips to Warsaw and Prague, said: 'We were given a very heavy hint by the Foreign Office that evangelizing on this in foreign capitals would be a good thing.
'We’re not negotiating, we’re putting ideas forward and listening to the reaction to them.”.
But Richard Whitman, professor of politics and international relations at University of Kent, said: ‘It’s extraordinary, I’ve never heard of anything like this before.
'It’s almost like a two-track diplomatic process. The government has got plausible deniability.’
It comes as a new poll revealed British businesses want the government to seize back powers from Brussels to stop them being swamped in red tape.
The findings come in the first major survey of firms to be conducted after David Cameron’s speech on Europe in January, when the Prime Minister said he wants to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the European Union and promised an in-or-out referendum by the end of 2017, if the Conservatives are still in power.
The survey of more than 4,000 firms by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) shows support among 64pc of businesses for remaining in Europe – but only if the UK government can wrest back from the eurocrats the power to set the rules here on employment law and health and safety.
From the point of view of red tape, Brussels is a beast that has gone completely out of control,’ said John Longworth, director general of the BCC.
‘In the food and agriculture sectors, 90percent of new legislation here comes out of Europe. The British government has introduced a ‘one-in-one-out’ rule so that when a new regulation comes in, an old one must go, but they are powerless about the legislation coming from the EU.’
According to the survey, a mere 15pc of firms feel ‘positive’ about keeping the UK’s relationship with Europe unchanged, while more than four out of ten believe sticking with the status quo will harm their company and the UK economy.
Almost 20 percent want Britain to withdraw totally from the EU, believing the disadvantages of all the rules and regulations imposed by Brussels outweigh the benefits of a single market.
A third would like to see Britain pull out but then draw up a new trade agreement with the EU.
The Foreign Office has been accused of being 'unambitious' in its attempts to negotiate a new settlement with the European Union.
Tory MPs have been tasked with pushing the Prime Minister's plan, ahead of a promised in-out referendum if the Conservatives win the next election.
David Cameron, who last week met German
Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss EU reform, has promised an in-out
referendum after securing a new deal with Brussels
Experts said the arrangement was ‘extraordinary’, but officials are unable to become embroiled in the Conservative plan because it is opposed by their Lib Dem coalition partners.
To get around the problem, Mr Cameron has asked the anti-EU group, the Fresh Start Project, to meet ambassadors, journalists and their counterparts in other countries to make the case for change.
Foreign Secretary William Hague and Europe minister David Lidington have also understood to have given their backing to Tory MPs engaging with their counterparts across the continent.
Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom told Bloomberg: ‘The Foreign Office are, bluntly, unambitious. I’ve had some extraordinarily frustrating conversations with officials there.
'They say things like: “You can only negotiate one or at the most two things at a time." We’re being warmly encouraged to go on with our quest.’
Ms Leadsom is due to visit Berlin this month, with other delegations going to Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic later this year. While the group has no official mandate from government, she said it is clear to those they meet that ‘we are here with Cameron’s blessing’.
On Friday Mr Cameron travelled to Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Prime Minister, wife Samantha and their three children spent the night at Schloss Meseberg, the German Chancellor’s official country retreat.
Germany has emerged as an unlikely ally in the
UK's push for changes to the areas where the EU interferes with national
governments
Later Michael Meister, a leading member of Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, said Germany was ‘open for arguments’ about returning some powers.
But the Tory MPs are pushing for other EU member states to go further in the pushing the case for reform.
Chris Heaton-Harris, a Tory MP who will lead Fresh Start trips to Warsaw and Prague, said: 'We were given a very heavy hint by the Foreign Office that evangelizing on this in foreign capitals would be a good thing.
'We’re not negotiating, we’re putting ideas forward and listening to the reaction to them.”.
But Richard Whitman, professor of politics and international relations at University of Kent, said: ‘It’s extraordinary, I’ve never heard of anything like this before.
COUNTDOWN TO A HISTORIC VOTE: CAMERON'S PLAN FOR EU REFORM
David Cameron used a speech in January
to set out a detailed timetable for staging a historic referendum on
Britain's membership of the EU.
- The Tories will start drawing up a draft Bill immediately, to be finalised before the 2015 election
- Conservative party election manifesto will promise to negotiate a 'new settlement' with Brussels, including clawing back powers
- If Mr Cameron is returned as Prime Minister he will push through the legislation within weeks, passing into law by the end of 2015. Aides say the issue would be a 'red line' to doing a coalition deal if the Tories fail to secure an outright majority
- The in/out referendum will take place before 2017, halfway through the 2015-20 Parliament
It comes as a new poll revealed British businesses want the government to seize back powers from Brussels to stop them being swamped in red tape.
The findings come in the first major survey of firms to be conducted after David Cameron’s speech on Europe in January, when the Prime Minister said he wants to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the European Union and promised an in-or-out referendum by the end of 2017, if the Conservatives are still in power.
The survey of more than 4,000 firms by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) shows support among 64pc of businesses for remaining in Europe – but only if the UK government can wrest back from the eurocrats the power to set the rules here on employment law and health and safety.
From the point of view of red tape, Brussels is a beast that has gone completely out of control,’ said John Longworth, director general of the BCC.
‘In the food and agriculture sectors, 90percent of new legislation here comes out of Europe. The British government has introduced a ‘one-in-one-out’ rule so that when a new regulation comes in, an old one must go, but they are powerless about the legislation coming from the EU.’
According to the survey, a mere 15pc of firms feel ‘positive’ about keeping the UK’s relationship with Europe unchanged, while more than four out of ten believe sticking with the status quo will harm their company and the UK economy.
Almost 20 percent want Britain to withdraw totally from the EU, believing the disadvantages of all the rules and regulations imposed by Brussels outweigh the benefits of a single market.
A third would like to see Britain pull out but then draw up a new trade agreement with the EU.