Joint statement from PM and President Barroso
Prime Minister David Cameron has issued a joint statement on EU economic growth with President Barroso of the European Commission.
Read the statement
The Prime Minister David Cameron and President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission met at Number 10 on 17 February 2011. They agreed on the need for the EU to focus on concrete and ambitious actions to reignite growth in the EU, which is the most important market for UK business.
The meeting took stock of the necessary steps being taken in the UK and other Member States to restore the stability of public finances and deliver essential structural reforms, whilst continuing to invest in areas such as research, green technologies and innovation which will be the basis for sustainable growth in the future.
In the light of the European Council conclusions of 4 February, the Prime Minister and the President reaffirmed the need to complete the single market in energy by 2014, to maintain an ambitious approach on climate change, and to speed up progress towards the EU’s energy efficiency goal.
Looking ahead to the programme to boost the single market that the European Commission will present later this spring, they discussed the importance of further opening of professional and business services; the digital single market and e-commerce; modernised intellectual property regime including the EU patent; effective public procurement rules; EU standards; and a better business environment, in particular for small business including the possibility of exemptions from regulation.
Noting that since 2004 the European Commission has presented proposals to cut the administrative costs of EU rules by over 30%, the Prime Minister and the President hoped to see the rapid adoption of these reforms and looked forward to the extension of this programme taking account of the ongoing work of the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens. They also agreed on the need to step up efforts to reduce overall regulatory burdens, including through the use of the Commission’s ‘fitness checks’ for existing EU legislation.
They agreed on the importance of better enforcement of the common EU framework to ensure fair competition and a level playing field, uphold single market freedoms, and maintain the coherence of the single market. The Prime Minister and the President stressed the importance of projecting these values in the EU’s external relations and agreed to work closely together to promote a successful conclusion to the Doha Round in 2011 as well as pursuing ambitious bilateral Free Trade Agreements with the EU’s bilateral partners.
The Prime Minister and the President also had a useful exchange of views on the forthcoming European Commission proposals on the future EU budget and agreed to continue to work closely on these issues in the coming months. They also agreed to work closely together to increase transparency in EU budget spending, by Member States and by the EU institutions.
The Prime Minister and President discussed recent developments in North Africa and the Middle East. They agreed on the need to support democratic transition and economic and social development in Tunisia and Egypt. They stressed the importance of the European Commission’s work to review and further develop the European Neighbourhood Policy.
Finally, they expressed their concern at the increasing under-representation of UK citizens in the European Union institutions and agreed to continue to work together to encourage more British graduates to pursue a career in the EU, and to examine the options available to address the problem.