26 October 2009 - Guardian
Foreign secretary warns that UK will lose out internationally if it opposes EU policymaking because of hubris or xenophobia
By Deborah Summers
Britain must take a lead in developing a strong European foreign policy if it is to retain its influence around the world, David Miliband said today.
The foreign secretary warned that the UK would lose out internationally if it tried to oppose EU foreign policymaking on the grounds of "hubris, nostalgia or xenophobia".
Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Miliband attacked the Conservative opposition to the Lisbon treaty – which creates an EU foreign minister and diplomatic service – as a "deception".
"It is very strongly in the British national interest for the EU to develop a strong foreign policy," he said.
"To be frightened of European foreign policy is blinkered, fatalistic and wrong. Britain should embrace it, shape it and lead European foreign policy."
Miliband warned that without an effective European foreign policy Britain and the EU would increasingly become an irrelevance, in a world dominated by Washington and Beijing.
"The choice for Europe is simple – get our act together and make the EU a leader on the world stage or become spectators in a G2 world shaped by the United States and China," he said.
"I think the choice for Britain is also simply stated. We can lead a strong European foreign policy or, lost in hubris, nostalgia or xenophobia, watch our influence in the world wane."
Miliband also warned that an unsuccessful attempt by a Conservative government to renegotiate elements of the EU in the wake of ratification of the Lisbon treaty could simply lead to demands for Britain to leave Europe altogether.
"The truth is that there is a deception here at the heart of policy – a deception of the country: that you can hate Europe as it exists today and remain central to European policymaking," he said.
"In fact a failed attempt to renegotiate aspects of the EU that the Conservative party does not like would inevitably lead to more calls for Britain to leave the EU."
Miliband spoke out after yesterday endorsing Tony Blair to become the first president of the European council, declaring that the EU needed a big hitter who could stop the traffic in world capitals.
Amid signs that the Czech Republic will soon ratify the Lisbon treaty, creating a legal basis for the new post, the foreign secretary described Blair as a very good choice for Britain and the EU.
"I think it's very important for Europe that it has a strong figure in that role," Miliband told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC1. "I think it would be very good for Britain, as well as very good for Europe ... We need someone who can do more than simply run through the agenda," he said.
"We need someone who, when he or she lands in Beijing or Washington or Moscow, the traffic does need to stop, the talks do need to begin at a very, very high level."
