Blair sets out his vision for Europe

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech to the European Parliament on Thursday was a very good one in which he set out his vision for Europe and where he reiterated his long-held belief that Europe needs to change, to modernise and to renew itself in order to face today's challenges.

It is customary for the incoming President of the European Council to address the European Union's legislative body just before the start of the new presidency. Mr Blair, conscious that many in Europe hold him responsible for the failure of last week's European summit, was on a charm offensive in which he sounded conciliatory, emphasised his strong European credentials, while at the same time made a very clear statement about what is wrong with Europe and what needs to change.

One may not agree with all Mr Blair's policies - whether domestic, European or international - but nobody can deny that he has excellent leadership qualities, is a visionary, a very good public speaker, and very charismatic, and has presided over a booming economy in Britain while at the same time building up his country's social model.

These qualities will certainly serve him well as he takes over the helm of the EU - at a time when Europe really needs some soul-searching. Furthermore, Mr Blair has just been given a fresh electoral mandate - unlike some important European leaders who are either on the way out or have become lame ducks. He is therefore in an ideal position to assume a leadership role in Europe - whether certain countries will allow this to happen is another question.

Mr Blair told the European Parliament that Europe was in the midst of a profound debate about its future. He is certainly right. The rejection of the European Constitution by the French and Dutch electorates, coupled with last week's failure by European leaders to agree on an EU budget for 2007-2013, plunged Europe into a huge crisis. But there are so many other areas that need tackling besides the budget and the Constitution, such as economic reform, job creation and dealing with globalisation.

Mr Blair made it clear that the debate in Europe is not between those who want a free market against those who want a social Europe, nor is it between those who want a free trade area against those who want a political union. In a way part of the debate is fought along these lines, (mainly by the eurosceptics and the arch-federalists) but it is not as simple as that. I think there is a growing consensus in Europe that while political and economic co-operation and a strong social model are important, things within the EU must change in order to come to terms with present day realities.

Mr Blair rightly pointed out many of the EU's achievements over the past 50 years, such as peace, prosperity and progress, but now, he said, it is a time for renewal, which does not mean removing the social aspect of Europe, but having the conviction to make it more relevant and modern for today's needs. He questioned whether a social model with 20 million unemployed was worth keeping - a very valid point indeed.

The challenge of globalisation featured prominently in Mr Blair's address in which he often mentioned India and China, pointing out that these countries are overtaking Europe in science and research. "We cannot avoid globalisation," he pointed out. He repeated the words "modernisation" and "renewal" many times in his speech, saying that this was the only way for Europe to recover its strength.

The need to reconnect Europe to its citizens was also given importance by Mr Blair. He cited the example of the French and Dutch referenda results as a protest vote at the way Europe was heading saying people in Europe wanted their leaders to produce results and to listen to them. Moderate leaders, he said, must show leadership at this important hour, otherwise the extremists will gain ground, and this is in nobody's interest.

Mr Blair was right to point out that the Lisbon Agenda targets will certainly not be met by 2010 because not enough reform in Europe had taken place. It was time for a reality check, he said. In a conciliatory gesture he said he was willing to discuss the revision of the British rebate - but this had to be accompanied by an overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy, (CAP) which, he said, would not be changed overnight but after a period of negotiations and discussions. It was certainly not right, he emphasised, that 40 per cent of the EU's budget should go towards the CAP - which in reality goes mostly to French farmers.

Tony Blair gave his support for a strong European Common Foreign and Security Policy - with or without the co-operation of NATO - and said that an economically strong Europe will be a powerful and important player on the world stage. He also warned, rightly, against freezing EU enlargement and said Europe should keep its commitments to Croatia and Turkey, two candidate countries.

So overall, I think Mr Blair gave a very welcome and important speech, which was well received by the majority of MEPs. After his address European Commission president José Manuel Barroso said the Commission was committed to economic reform and renewal and he was sure Mr Blair, an experienced European statesman, was the right person to spearhead such change in Europe. The reaction of the political party leaders in the European Parliament to Mr Blair's speech was quite positive, on the whole. Their basic message was that if Mr Blair could help reconnect Europe to its people and make Europe more transparent - and to involve the European Parliament in this process - they would support him.

Mr Blair has a monumental task ahead as he takes over the EU presidency. He must first of all convince his European partners that he does not want to introduce an 'Anglo-Saxon' economic and social model into Europe as he attempts to reform the European Union. He will have to compromise and understand that there is certainly no 'one fits all' model for the EU.

Furthermore, Britain's relations with Germany and France are not exactly at their best at the moment - the French are upset over Mr Blair's refusal to reform the British EU rebate while the Germans did not take lightly to the fact that the UK suspended its planned referendum on the European Constitution. So these two major European powers will be sceptical, to say the least, about the UK presidency.

Having said that, I still think that Mr Blair - who on the whole has a good record as an economic reformer with a belief in a social model - is the best person to lead the European Union at this point in time. He must try to arrive at a compromise over the EU's budget for 2007-2013, which will not be easy, and he must make a huge effort to get Europe's citizens to reconnect to the EU. Tony Blair has always been a realist when talking about the EU and this is exactly what Europe needs today.