An expanded Europe will benefit Britain

Five years ago the European Union expanded overnight, extending its boundaries to include 12 new members and 104 million more citizens. But not everyone was rejoicing. Euro-sceptics claimed that the EU’s influence would be too great – or maybe too small. Some panicked that millions of new EU citizens would swamp our labour market. Others feared that weaker economies would suck the funding away from the richer EU members. Many doubted that with so many voices around the table, anything would ever get done.

Five years on, it’s clear that those sceptics were wrong. The EU is stronger for being broader: an expanded EU has vastly increased trading opportunities for British business, has increased security at home and in our neighbourhood and has weakened the case for creating a European super state.

But making the case for further enlargement and more free movement is undoubtedly more difficult in a recession, when unemployment is rising and pressure on public services intense.

We need to recognise that people’s perceptions of enlargement are not clear-cut. People have genuine fears over crime, job losses and over-crowded communities. But it’s important to separate myth from fact, to recognise what has gone right and to put forward the case for maintaining the momentum of EU accession, particularly in the western Balkans, but also in Turkey – a view echoed by the US president Barack Obama during his recent visit there.

The case for further enlargement rests on more than the figures charting increased growth and trade flows, important though these are to the British economy. We need to be clear too about the benefits to regional stability and security, particularly at a time when crime increasingly knows no borders.

Enlargement has transformed the countries of eastern Europe after decades of communism: anchoring democracy and market based economic systems; and promoting social progress and human rights.

We should continue to take forward Turkey’s accession negotiations, too. Turkey is a country of huge economic potential and its position at the crossroads of Europe makes it a logical transit route for energy from both the Middle East and Central Asia, and a key force for stability and prosperity in the region. It’s in our interests to see the EU’s shared values and common standards grow beyond our current boundaries and extend, for the first time, to a majority Muslim country.

Enlargement brings risks and it hasn’t always been easy. Joining the EU is not, nor should it be, a walk in the park. Back in the 1970s, the UK’s application for membership was rejected twice. Not so long ago, people railed when Spain and Greece applied to join.

But we have shown in the past and we’ll show again in the future that we can manage the risks by setting rigorous standards: on fighting crime and corruption; on respect for human rights; by ensuring that countries that join the EU have the political and economic structures to cope and are in a position to contribute to the strength of the union.

The future of Europe is yet to be written but it’s clear to me that the UK’s interests lie in seeing a union that moves forwards and outwards: one that delivers growth in the UK and a powerful platform for negotiating with other countries on issues that matter to British people. An expanded Europe will help deliver both these aims.