Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003
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By Hasan Suroor
In one of the Government's worst-kept secrets, the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, today announced that the economic conditions were not yet right for Britain to go into the single currency but to placate the Europhiles, led by none other than the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, he agreed to join a campaign to make the case for greater integration with Europe. "Tony Blair and I have decided.... that we should put the pro-European case. I believe we can unite the British people around a pro-European consensus, which I believe, is vital for the future of this country," he said before announcing his "not yet" verdict. He emphasised that "in principle" he was for joining the single currency but only when it was in Britain's economic interest to do so. His remarks were aimed at playing down his differences with Mr. Blair on the issue, which has dogged their relations ever since Labour came to power in 1997. Nevertheless, Mr Blair's dream of being remembered for putting Britain at the `heart' of Europe lay in tatters today after Mr. Brown emphatically asserted his authority over the timing of a decision on adopting the euro. Mr. Brown's long-awaited, but predictable, announcement in Parliament that Britain had not yet met the five economic tests laid down in October 1997 as a condition for adopting the euro, came even as the pro-Europe business lobby stepped up pressure to adopt the single currency, saying uncertainty was not good for Britain-based companies. A number of multinational companies have threatened to move their European headquarters out of Britain if it continues to stay out of the single-currency regime — a threat, which could result in massive job losses. Richard Branson, head of the Virgin group of companies, said Virgin Mobiles had just lost £3 millions on a transaction because of currency differentials. He feared that the "loss in currencies movement will cost jobs in the long run." The pro-Europe MPs, clearly dismayed by the decision, called for a "road-map" outlining a time-scale for a referendum. The former Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, wanted a "gear change" in the Government's approach to swing the public opinion in favour of the euro. "We need a gear change. We need to move into a different approach. We need to say, whereas in 1997 we were so far away from meeting the conditions we couldn't contemplate entry, we are now so near to fulfilling conditions that entry is going to happen as soon as possible," he said. But Eurosceptics seized on a new poll, which showed that public opinion against abandoning the pound had hardened in recent months. Scare stories about a sharp rise in prices in the euro-zone have added to the anti-euro mood. Mr. Brown is unveiling the Treasury's assessment of the five economic tests, which he set in October 1997 for potential membership of the single currency, in a statement to the House of Commons this evening.
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