We in Britain are, by tradition and history, a resourceful, practical and fair-minded people, always wanting to play a role in the wider world. So we want a European Community that works effectively and fairly, and which looks to wide horizons. But today the British people see instead a Community preoccupied and bedevilled by internal problems. They find that hard to understand. [end p1]
The Conservative Party wants to build a better Community. We are the only political party which has worked in the Community for the interests both of Britain and Europe. We know what reforms are necessary. And we know how we must achieve them. Beyond that, we know how important the Community can be for the world and how we should extend its influence. [end p2]
We are less than two weeks away from the next European Council. Will it be a failure, like Athens—or will it make progress?
I want an agreement on the 19th March and am working hard for it. But I don't want to paper over the cracks. I want to get rid of the cracks. I want to rebuild the foundations. [end p3]
That means—no fudges, no compromises just to get us through the next few weeks; but realistic and lasting solutions to problems which have built up over a number of years. That is the only clear way for the future.
The principles are plain.
First—equity. There has got to be a fair and lasting solution to the problem of budget contributions. [end p4] The burdens and benefits of membership need to be shared between partners. The yardstick—and it is a fair one—must be ability to pay.
Second—economy. The Community lives beyond its means. Last year, spending on agriculture alone was up by almost a third. It cannot go on. No individual Community country would put up with that at home. [end p5]
The reforms we need are clear. Everyone in the Community is asking for a change in the system of financing. I know that for some that means throwing money, especially other people's, at problems. That won't do. We must get to the root.
Only if there is a new and fair basis for contributions and only if there is strict control both of the total budget and of agricultural spending, can we seriously consider increasing the Community's resources. [end p6]
They all go together. No increase in own resources without a fair and responsible system of financing. In the words of the song “You can't have one without the other” .
I am tired of this being described as a “British problem” . The problems are Europe-wide. [end p7]
I want to solve them, so that we can set about building the Community of the future—a Community: — striving for freer trade, breaking down the barriers in Europe and the world to the free flow of goods, capital and services; — working together to make Europe the home of the industries of tomorrow: — seizing the initiative on world problems, not reacting wearily to them; [end p8] — forging political links across the European divide and so creating a more hopeful relationship between East and West; — using its influence as a vital area of stability and democracy to strengthen democracy across the world.
That is my vision. I am impatient to make it a reality. But we can only do it when the present problems are solved. My message to the Community is: [end p9] — we must stop behaving like ostriches; — we all know the problems are there, and that if we don't solve them in March, we will just have to solve them later: — so let's have the guts to face the present so that we can use our energies to build the future, for ourselves and our children.
Unless we show that we can tackle the problems within, we shall carry little conviction in the wider world. [end p10]
But it is to the wider world that the Community must look. That is the history of our continent, the source of so much of the world's creative thinking, invention and art. The dreams and ambitions of countless Europeans have spread across the world all that is best in our civilisation. Those men and women had the spirit of adventure and enterprise. [end p11] Their horizons were not confined to a common agricultural policy. And nor should ours be. The finest traditions of Europe turn our faces to the world beyond. Let us recover that spirit. Let it guide us through present problems to a future which will inspire our children and generations yet to come.