EUROPE's future lay in a partnership of nation states, not in a European superstate structure, Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, said last night in London.
In the first of a series of speeches, the remainder of which will be delivered in Europe, Mr Rifkind said Europe's past had inspired the belief, passionately held by some, in the federal design. The nation state had failed to protect its citizens, which had led to a conviction that only in supranationality could the evils of nationalism be prevented. He profoundly disagreed, he told the French Chamber of Commerce.
Britain's geographical position at the edge of the European land mass had given us a distinctive perspective, he added. We did not feel instinctively a desire to harmonise our laws and rules with our European neighbour, and we did not and would not believe in a European superstate. ``The future lies between the two poles of federalism or a free trade area,'' he said.
``Britain's view is that the best future for us all lies in a partnership of nations where Europe concentrates single- mindedly on what needs to be done at a European level and does it well.
``We support co-operation that focuses on lifting the prosperity, quality of life and security of our citizens. It is their interest that should guide us.''
The speech and its successors - which will be delivered over the next six weeks in Stockholm, Bonn, Paris, Brussels and possibly Budapest - will be backed up by radio and newspaper interviews and articles. They add up to a concerted attempt by Mr Rifkind to shape European opinion in the run up to the next inter-governmental conference.
He intends to pose the key question - how far should the process of integration go. Each speech will focus on a different issue, with the limits of integration forming the core of his speech in Stockholm on February 3, and flexibility, how far to accommodate those who want more integration and those who do not, the heart of the Bonn speech later that month.
His aim is to make clear that, for all the differences between Britain and our EU partners, there remains a bedrock of common values.
He wants his message to go wider than the Chancelleries of Europe, since this is a debate for the peoples of Europe, not just for governments ``We see no Manichaean choice between a federal Europe or nothing,'' he said. ``Many people across Europe would agree. Many of us feel that the debate has become too polarised between stark choices of in or out.''
What was needed was a consensus which catered for everyone's wants and needs.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article